Kenny Pickett, the No. 20 choice and quarterback owner Art Rooney II introduced on April 29, 2022, as the man who smashed all of Dan Marino's collegiate records, is no longer with us, six hundred and eighty-seven days after he was drafted.
Traded to Philadelphia, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter, Pickett's departure doesn't portend a total change in the traditional, devoted organization's mindset, hours after the Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed Russell Wilson into their facility.
If anything, it serves to emphasize the central idea of the brand. It also acknowledges the organization's error.
Restricted by a skill level that was below his draft pick and obstinate decision-makers who intervened too late, Pickett asked for a trade in order to voice his dissatisfaction with Wilson's signing.
It marked the end of an era that ought never to have begun, according to some.
But Pickett is not the main cause of the issue; rather, it is the organization's failure to create a clear succession plan for Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers' pursuit of historical phantoms prevented them from effectively preparing for the future; instead, they chose to perpetuate the organization's past errors and cling to its heyday.
And now, two years following the much-anticipated retirement of quarterback Roethlisberger, the team finds itself back where it wanted to be: virtually at the beginning.
By signing Wilson, the catalyst for Pickett's trek across the Commonwealth, the Steelers avoid having to rebuild from the ground up.