OT: NFL

[IUP24]

Nah, I get it. But honestly, even if every word of it is true, there’s nothing in that story that I can’t see happening in every NFL facility all the time. Guys get jerked around. Guys get the side eye if they won’t play hurt. And good on him for standing up for himself, but given how he’s played to this point I doubt there’s a team in the league that wouldn’t have shown him the door in these circumstances.

If an owner and a head coach show a player a door because they won't play when they aren't medically cleared by a doctor to do so that's a pretty bad look. That's probably a worse look than a 2nd year player saying "no" when asked if they've learned anything watching from the sidelines.

And if that's one of the dominoes that fell regarding Pickett's departure from the Steelers, I'm not sure any of us would not have wanted a different situation to work in either.

Pickett played poorly. These things aren't personal. It's all supposed to be business. And if it's business for the Steelers, it's business for Pickett too.

[Chuck Norris]

The "did you learn anything watching from the sidelines..." situation is a bad look. But I think you are looking at this very pointedly and not seeing the full context - or you've reached your own conclusion on how things unfolded. And that's fine. People can believe the version of the events they choose to believe. Regarding all that's unfolded since Seattle, there's another side of that conversation too.

It's being pieced together that Gerry Dulac's "source" is Art Rooney II. Dejan wrote a story a few days ago that he had multiple players on the team confirm that Pickett was never medically cleared to be available to play in the football game. Tomlin wanted Pickett to dress as the 3rd string emergency QB. Pickett didn't feel comfortable doing so with 4 broken ribs. So Dulac's story isn't wrong about Pickett not wanting to dress, but there's greater context to it. It had nothing to do with him being the backup behind Mason. Art 2 was supposedly unhappy Pickett didn't want to dress when not medically cleared to play because Roethlisberer did that for so long, so Art 2 soured on Pickett. If that's accurate, then it makes Art 2 - and Tomlin for that matter - both look like a real POS. That would fit everyone's narrative they like to push about an owner not giving a sh!t about players and just wanting to make money off of their "labor."

Others began reporting over the weekend that Pickett asked to be moved because he no longer trusted the organization. He was initially told that it would be an open QB competition - but he was told it would be him and Mason Rudolph. Rudolph and his agent recently were returning to the Steelers to accept a contract that was offered to him. They arrived and the Steelers informed them that they were rescinding their offer. Rudolph informed Pickett of that, and days later Pickett learns via social media that the team is signing Wilson. Tomlin then informed Pickett that there would be no competition and he Wilson would be the starter. He felt duped and lied to by the organization and head coach, so he wanted a fresh start. There are national people reporting that sequence of events.

I'm not defending Pickett by any means. I'm just presenting the full context. He's not without fault in all of this. If he plays at the level of an NFL QB, we aren't sitting here having this discussion. He was horrific playing QB during the 2023 season. But the character assassinations are pretty out of control. This is surprisingly very good civil discussion here. It's not for many, unfortunately.

Nah, I get it. But honestly, even if every word of it is true, there’s nothing in that story that I can’t see happening in every NFL facility all the time. Guys get jerked around. Guys get the side eye if they won’t play hurt. And good on him for standing up for himself, but given how he’s played to this point I doubt there’s a team in the league that wouldn’t have shown him the door in these circumstances.

[IUP24]

I'm not saying he did or didn't have any issues at Pitt, but, Pitt is notorious for shielding its athletes from the media (as are most P5 programs).

In college they can still somewhat protect what gets out (other than anything with criminal charges).

You added the caveat that most P5 programs are good at that, but what is the context of "shielding its athletes from the media?"

I guess my question is, what are the examples or data points you are referencing that make you believe that outside of Narduzzi not letting players talk to the media in open scrums during the Penn State games? There are requirements they have to meet regarding player availability before and after games, which they meet. Heck, Pickett was on a weekly radio spot his last year.

We could be looking at or interpreting two different things, however.

[IUP24]

Me neither. He was pretty much universally praised for all the intangible stuff. The Steelers aren’t blameless here, but refusing to dress for the Seattle game and answering a question about whether you learned anything watching from the sidelines while injured with a “No” in full boo boo face mode are bad looks. And that’s just stuff we know about.

The "did you learn anything watching from the sidelines..." situation is a bad look. But I think you are looking at this very pointedly and not seeing the full context - or you've reached your own conclusion on how things unfolded. And that's fine. People can believe the version of the events they choose to believe. Regarding all that's unfolded since Seattle, there's another side of that conversation too.

It's being pieced together that Gerry Dulac's "source" is Art Rooney II. Dejan wrote a story a few days ago that he had multiple players on the team confirm that Pickett was never medically cleared to be available to play in the football game. Tomlin wanted Pickett to dress as the 3rd string emergency QB. Pickett didn't feel comfortable doing so with 4 broken ribs. So Dulac's story isn't wrong about Pickett not wanting to dress, but there's greater context to it. It had nothing to do with him being the backup behind Mason. Art 2 was supposedly unhappy Pickett didn't want to dress when not medically cleared to play because Roethlisberer did that for so long, so Art 2 soured on Pickett. If that's accurate, then it makes Art 2 - and Tomlin for that matter - both look like a real POS. That would fit everyone's narrative they like to push about an owner not giving a sh!t about players and just wanting to make money off of their "labor."

Others began reporting over the weekend that Pickett asked to be moved because he no longer trusted the organization. He was initially told that it would be an open QB competition - but he was told it would be him and Mason Rudolph. Rudolph and his agent recently were returning to the Steelers to accept a contract that was offered to him. They arrived and the Steelers informed them that they were rescinding their offer. Rudolph informed Pickett of that, and days later Pickett learns via social media that the team is signing Wilson. Tomlin then informed Pickett that there would be no competition and he Wilson would be the starter. He felt duped and lied to by the organization and head coach, so he wanted a fresh start. There are national people reporting that sequence of events.

I'm not defending Pickett by any means. I'm just presenting the full context. He's not without fault in all of this. If he plays at the level of an NFL QB, we aren't sitting here having this discussion. He was horrific playing QB during the 2023 season. But the character assassinations are pretty out of control. This is surprisingly very good civil discussion here. It's not for many, unfortunately.

[Chuck Norris]

That really surprised me because I don't recall ever hearing anything about his attitude when he was at Pitt.

Me neither. He was pretty much universally praised for all the intangible stuff. The Steelers aren’t blameless here, but refusing to dress for the Seattle game and answering a question about whether you learned anything watching from the sidelines while injured with a “No” in full boo boo face mode are bad looks. And that’s just stuff we know about.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That really surprised me because I don't recall ever hearing anything about his attitude when he was at Pitt.

I'm not saying he did or didn't have any issues at Pitt, but, Pitt is notorious for shielding its athletes from the media (as are most P5 programs).

In college they can still somewhat protect what gets out (other than anything with criminal charges).

[Fightingscot82]

it feels like the reasons people had not to reach for him in the first round turned out to be fairly prophetic. He even threw in a poor attitude, which no one was accusing him of having.

That really surprised me because I don't recall ever hearing anything about his attitude when he was at Pitt.

[Chuck Norris]

I think Pickett's great last year at Pitt made people struggle to come up with reasons to avoid him, thus his age, hand size, etc.

it feels like the reasons people had not to reach for him in the first round turned out to be fairly prophetic. He even threw in a poor attitude, which no one was accusing him of having.

[IUP24]

I think you misinterpreted my point. I was fine with Pickett but I felt like the media and some others gave cheap shot excuses as to why he wasn't a first rounder.

Apologies for misinterpreting.

I think your point there is fair. Overall, plenty of guys become first rounders who aren't. Happens all the time, specifically at QB. JJ McCarthy has shown me absolutely nothing in his time at Michigan that tells me he will be a dynamic franchise elevating starting QB. There are Vegas oddsmakers who think he will go top 5.

[IUP24]

I'm not sure whether #1 and #2 are in the correct order. I also think that the jury is out on #1.

I'm not a Steelers fan and I never followed the guy at Pitt. But it seems to me that Pickett missed out on the development phase transitioning to the NFL. The Steelers thrust him into the starter's role before his time. He's 25, has had 2 pro years of experience. He's started 24 NFL games, I believe. There are guys who end up being pretty good NFL QB's who never started even one game by that point in their NFL career.

It will be interesting to see how his career progresses from here on out.

I'm with you. But if I put #2 before #1 I would have been labeled as an excuse maker who is a Pitt homer. I'm not. He stunk for the Steelers. I really wanted it to work out, but I'm glad the circus is over. But I don't believe the personal attacks from many in the media and fanbase are warranted. He didn't work out - for many reasons. Time for many to just move on.

I think the entire process with how they handled the quarterback situation dates back to before Ben Roethlisberger even retired.

[Fightingscot82]

His age has nothing to do with anything. Again, Kenny Pickett was in college for 5 years. He played in 4 games as a true freshman, which would have made him eligible for a redshirt if those rules existed then. He may have had an early birthday, but he had no more or less football than any other individual who is a 5th year senior, which we will eventually have again instead of calling them a "Graduate Student." I think you all remember when the graphics on the screen used to read RS Senior. That's what Pickett was.

The only item I'll say regarding his hand size was that he generally played very poorly when there was bad weather. I watched every college game of his career - most in person. And that was the general theme when there was any precipitation. Was that the reason why? None of us know.

But as I said in a previous post, players at that position play their way into the first round in their last year of college all the time. He isn't the only guy to do that. And most 1st round QBs are busts and have far more hype than he ever did coming out of Pitt. Not defending his play; he was horrific. There's just more context to the story.

I think you misinterpreted my point. I was fine with Pickett but I felt like the media and some others gave cheap shot excuses as to why he wasn't a first rounder.

[iupgroundhog]

Two things can be true about Pickett...

1) He isn't nearly good enough to elevate those around him and be a legitimate franchise level QB at the NFL level.
2) The Steelers did a horrific job of managing that entire situation from day one and he was destined to fail.

I'm not sure whether #1 and #2 are in the correct order. I also think that the jury is out on #1.

I'm not a Steelers fan and I never followed the guy at Pitt. But it seems to me that Pickett missed out on the development phase transitioning to the NFL. The Steelers thrust him into the starter's role before his time. He's 25, has had 2 pro years of experience. He's started 24 NFL games, I believe. There are guys who end up being pretty good NFL QB's who never started even one game by that point in their NFL career.

It will be interesting to see how his career progresses from here on out.

[IUP24]

I think Pickett's great last year at Pitt made people struggle to come up with reasons to avoid him, thus his age, hand size, etc.

His age has nothing to do with anything. Again, Kenny Pickett was in college for 5 years. He played in 4 games as a true freshman, which would have made him eligible for a redshirt if those rules existed then. He may have had an early birthday, but he had no more or less football than any other individual who is a 5th year senior, which we will eventually have again instead of calling them a "Graduate Student." I think you all remember when the graphics on the screen used to read RS Senior. That's what Pickett was.

The only item I'll say regarding his hand size was that he generally played very poorly when there was bad weather. I watched every college game of his career - most in person. And that was the general theme when there was any precipitation. Was that the reason why? None of us know.

But as I said in a previous post, players at that position play their way into the first round in their last year of college all the time. He isn't the only guy to do that. And most 1st round QBs are busts and have far more hype than he ever did coming out of Pitt. Not defending his play; he was horrific. There's just more context to the story.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not 100% certain, but picking up that 5th year option at 25 mill or whatever it is, is only guaranteed for injury. Pittsburgh can waive him or simply trade him at that point. If the other team really likes him $25 mill is a bargain today in the NFL for a starting QB.

Hopefullly this will be a 'redshirt' year for Fields where he can watch and learn the NFL game better.

We see -- year after year after year -- these highly successful college QBs get drafted high by the dregs of the NFL. They get thrown in to the fire way too soon -- with very little talent and protection. For most, it's the first time in their playing careers they are unsuccessful, and their confidence goes in the tank. Chicago is going to do it again here real shortly with the kid from USC.

There are a lot of Justin Fields-type QBs who are born again after they land at another team. The Steelers are a tremendously more stable and overall better situation for Fields.

As you said, $25m for a starting QB is chump change in the NFL. Consider Denver is paying Russell Wilson $38m this upcoming season to NOT play for them.

[Ram040506]

Who is going to take Fields with a 25 million cap hit in 2025? The Yinzers may have to pay part of it to get somebody else to take him,

Not 100% certain, but picking up that 5th year option at 25 mill or whatever it is, is only guaranteed for injury. Pittsburgh can waive him or simply trade him at that point. If the other team really likes him $25 mill is a bargain today in the NFL for a starting QB.