New report explains why Kenny Pickett was never 'the right fit' for the Steelers

 “If you even knew half of what he was dealing with here. I’m not willing to say he’s a complete and total bust. He was not the right fit. It was not the right thing here," Kinkhabwala said on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. 

Whether you view what Aditi is saying as excuses or not is up to you, but I can lay out exactly what she means when she said 'what he was dealing with here.'

It all starts and ends on the offensive side of the ball. 

Let's put ourselves in Kenny Pickett's shoes.

Imagine being thrust into a job after the veteran starter (Mitch Trubsiky at the time) is benched due to his lack of performance. A local sensation after playing and staring for the Pitt Panthers, you're tasked with winning and turning the team around from a 2-7 start. 

Oh and you're a rookie. 

Pickett did just that, with a bad offensive line, arguably worst OC in NFL history and plenty of headaches around him on offense, going 7-2 down the stretch. 

That infrastructure (or lack thereof) carries over into your sophomore year, where the very first week after the Steelers relieved Matt Canada of his duties, Pickett had the most efficient game of his career. 

He would then go on to be injured and get ankle surgery that forced him to miss multiple games, where Mason Rudolph stepped in and outright took the job despite being Pickett cleared to play. 

From there, you're told the organization is 100% behind you heading into 2024, only to have them sign Russell Wilson and then be told that he is the starter, at which point you ask for a trade because you know you have no shot at the job, and figure a fresh start is best. 

So you can call it excuses, but that's what life was like for Pickett during his short tenure in Pittsburgh.