Steelers Want Kenny Pickett And Mason Rudolph Back For 2024
Arthur Smith can help Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett bounce back from a disappointing season, according to general manager Omar Khan.
Pittsburgh’s new offensive coordinator is tasked with improving an attack that ranked 28th in the NFL last season.Â
Kenny Pickett was injured towards the end of 2023 with a high ankle sprain. However, his performances didn’t demand an instant return to the field when he was fit, and Mason Rudolph continued starting.
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All of Pickett’s stats for 2023 were down from his rookie season. He averaged 172.5 passing yards per game with a 62% completion rate. As well as that, he produced just six passing touchdowns in 12 games. Pickett is 14-10 as a Steelers starter. Nonetheless, Khan plans to keep him and Rudolph in the QB room next season.
“I have full faith in Kenny Pickett,” Khan said.Â
“Obviously there were some issues with the offense, and I’m excited about the impact that Arthur Smith is going to have on him. I know Arthur’s very optimistic about Kenny, and I know they’ve communicated. And we’ll see where it goes. We feel really good about him.
“Right now we have one guy under contract, that’s Kenny Pickett. I feel really good about Kenny, but he knows, and we all know there’s going to be competition in the room, and we’ve always been a team that keeps three quarterbacks and I’d expect that to be the same this year.â€
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Based on his performances, there is an argument to be made for Rudolph to be the starter. According to Khan, the Steelers are trying to convince him to return as a free agent.Â
“He knows we want him back, we’ve had conversations, but it’s just sort of how the process goes, you know,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a few weeks until the start of the league year. But I know we’d like to have him back, and I believe he wants to come back and compete. He likes it here and we’ve had a good experience with Mason.”
