The Pittsburgh Steelers might have a shot at the playoffs and, who knows, maybe a Super Bowl run. After three consecutive losses against the Arizona Cardinals, the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts, they seemed out of the race, but suddenly Mason Rudolph appeared.
The third-string quarterback proved to be way better than Mitch Trubisky as the backup and led the Steelers to massive wins against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seahawks. By the way, Pittsburgh hadn’t won a game in Seattle since 1983.
Now, the Steelers could be one of the biggest stories in the NFL if they manage to get in the playoffs. They have to beat the Ravens which won’t play their starters and hope one of these teams lose: Buffalo Bills or Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, even in this amazing streak, there’s a big scandal in Pittsburgh. A very controversial report by Mark Madden pointed out Kenny Pickett refused to be the No.2 quarterback against the Seahawks though he was supposedly recovered from an ankle injury.
Did Kenny Pickett refuse to be the backup of Mason Rudolph?
In a shocking turn of events, Kenny Pickett decided to face reporters on Tuesday to clarify the report about him refusing to be backup for Mason Rudolph. Pickett appeared and directly made this statement before taking any questions.
“I saw reports out there that I felt were attacking my character. There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a No.2. If I was healthy enough to play, and the trainers and coaches felt like I looked good enough to play, I was going to start and play. If they believed that I was not, which they believed I was not, I was not going to dress and suit up for the game.”
Pickett was extremely disappointed by such a report as there was never any conversation about him possibly refusing to be the No.2 quarterback in the depth chart before the game against Seattle.
“It was either I was going to start and play or if they didn’t think I was good enough to do that, healthy enough, I was going to be the 3 and not dress. So, whoever reported that, I don’t know where it started, it’s kind of crazy what people would write and put out there to try to prove their point or help their careers. Disappointed to see that without any proof or basis of it.”
Who will be the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Kenny Pickett got ahead of head coach Mike Tomlin and confirmed he will the backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last game of the regular season againt the Baltimore Ravens.
“This week I’m now the 2. They feel good four weeks out of the surgery for me to dress and be the 2. So I’ll be the 2 and do what I have to do to be ready to go from Baltimore.”