PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – We are going to see Kenny Pickett back in Pittsburgh and in Acrisure Stadium in April as the Pitt All-American and Steelers first-round pick talked with Pat Bostick on 93.7 The Fan.
Pickett is returning for the Panthers Blue-Gold Spring Game in early April where he will likely be an honorary coach against another Philadelphia Eagle, and former Panther, Avonte Maddox.
“Really excited for it,” Pickett told Bostick on the Panthers Insider Show. “Really excited to get back to Pitt and see all the guys, all the coaches and see how the team is looking this year.”
You could imagine the offseason. At this time last year Pickett was the Steelers starting quarterback, excited about a third NFL season with a new offensive coordinator. Then in early March the group that took him in the first round added Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson and then Justin Fields in the span of a couple of days. His request for a trade would be answered, across the Commonwealth where Philadelphia already had a big-money quarterback.
“The offseason was crazy,” Pickett said on 93.7 The Fan. “Everyone’s journey is different. It’s the NFL. It’s a tough league. I’m just taking it a day at a time. Being where my feet are, putting everything into my craft and working hard.”
“We’ll see what happens. That’s where my mindset is at. Loving Philly. Loved my time in Pittsburgh. Excited to head into year four next.”
Philly controls his rights for this year and potentially next although its doubtful the team would pick up a fifth-year option for their back-up quarterback.
During the eight-minute interview with Bostick, Pickett never said anything but being thankful for his time with the Steelers. He keeps in touch with a few of his old teammates including tight end Pat Freiermuth. Currently in Florida, right after he was done talking to Bostick, he was going to play golf with Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith.
“You develop such strong bonds playing football,” Pickett said on the Panthers Insider Show. “Especially at this level with how much time that gets put into it, during the season, OTAs, training camp, being in Latrobe, being in dorm rooms.”
The now 26-year-old said he has been through adversity, ‘grateful’ he had an injury in 2020 that limited him to nine games and as much as anything helped Pickett’s decision to return to Pitt for a fifth season. He said that happening allowed him to better deal with the adversities his first three seasons in the NFL. Pickett told Bostick everybody goes through something and his time at Pitt helped him be ready for it.
He still talks to Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi a couple of times a month and said about his journey in college.
“In 2017, coming in together as freshmen and all the veterans on the team, all we talked about was winning the ACC Championship,” Pickett told Bostick on 93.7 The Fan. “Every day we broke down on ACC champions. We believed we could do it. It took some time, but sometimes in football it does take a little bit of time.”
“We had incredible players, incredible coaches. To see everybody come together that senior season and do exactly what we were capable of doing and what we said we were going to do. It was unbelievable.”
“My favorite time playing football was 2021 at Pitt.”
The quarterback added with Bostick, his Panthers teammates and coaches at Pitt will just like family for life.
Just a few days ago he got back into preparation for 2025 after being part of a Super Bowl championship with his favorite team growing up. He’s excited about what the future holds even if he isn’t sure if that means staying in Philadelphia. He’s working so he is ready for whatever is next.
We know his next time in a football stadium will be back at his alma mater. Where beyond anything that happened in the NFL, he won an ACC Championship.