Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly has claimed that Kenny Pickett could be set for a long wait before he emerges as the team’s starting quarterback. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in two new quarterbacks this offseason as they look to find the permanent replacement for Ben Roethlisberger. Mitch Trubisky was signed as a free agent after spells with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, but in a more headline-grabbing move, they also spent their first-round pick in the draft on Kenny Pickett. 

Pickett has by some accounts had a bit of a rough time when it comes to his first preseason in the NFL, with a report from back in June claiming that there wasn’t much of a chance that we would be the team’s starter at all this upcoming season. Not only that but he has also had to deal with criticism from the outside regarding his decision to wear gloves when he throws from former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman.

A little bit of a baptism of fire in that case when it comes to his first few months in the National Football League, and it doesn’t sound as if things are going to be getting any better for him moving forward, as not only does he face a slim chance of being the starter, but he might be made to wait a little bit before he sees the field at all.

What’s been said?

According to a claim by Mark Kaboly of the Athletic (via Andrew Fillipponi on Twitter), Pickett might not see a lot of the field in the first few months of the season. He noted that backup Mason Rudolph, who you would imagine doesn’t have much of a chance to start for them considering the Steelers’ decision to draft Pickett for the future, will remain the backup moving forward and that the rookie wouldn’t even be part of the active roster for games:

It should be noted that there is still time before the season begins, and there is always the possibility that the landscape will change drastically, for instance Trubisky could get injured in preseason, or Pickett could do so well against the competition when games start that he jumps above the lot of them before Week 1 of the regular season.

Are the Steelers wasting their time? 

But if things stay as they are, then you do have to wonder if the Steelers made the right decision in taking him where they did. The rest of the quarterback class being taken so late in the draft was perhaps an indicator that teams weren’t desperate to draft one. 

Meaning that they could have held off on him, drafted someone of higher importance that could make an instant impact and left him until later in the draft, where the patient approach to his development might have been more understandable if he was a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Which could mean that the Steelers have essentially wasted this season when they perhaps should have been focusing more on the present rather than the long-term. 

Wouldn't it make more sense for Pickett to be the backup and possibly get reps as soon as possible?