Kenny Pickett Shuts Down Rumor That He Refused To Be Backup QB Against Seahawks But Situation With Steelers Remains Murky

The Pittsburgh Steelers may be coming off an impressive road win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but depending on what side you want to believe, things may not be exactly perfect when it comes to Kenny Pickett and the quarterback room.

Pickett was inactive for the team's matchup against the Seahawks. Most didn't think much of it given that he's been limited in practice as he continues to work his way back from ankle surgery. On Monday, however, it was reported that Pickett didn't suit up because he simply refused to be the backup to Mason Rudolph.

Mark Madden of 105.9 The X appears to have been the first to suggest Pickett's refusal to be QB2 in Seattle while also claiming Steelers writers weren't reporting the facts.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said that the decision to make Pickett inactive for the game was due to him not getting enough reps in practice during the week.

Pickett didn't just leave it at that. When asked about the situation, the former Pitt star took an ample amount of time to shoot down the report while claiming it felt as if his character as a person was being attacked.

“I saw reports out there that I felt like were attacking my character and how I am as a person, not even getting into a player standpoint of it. There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being the No. 2," Pickett began.

"If I was healthy enough to play and the trainers and coaches felt like I looked good enough to play, I was gonna start and play. If they believed I was not, which they believed I wasn't, I was not gonna dress and suit up for the game."

Pickett went on to explain that he will be the backup quarterback behind Rudolph this week in the team's regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.

What Is Going On With Kenny Pickett And The Steelers?

While Pickett seems adamant with his explanation, there are still unavoidable questions when it comes to the QB situation.

Pickett already stating he's been named the No. 2 QB for this week two days after being told he wasn't healthy enough to do so in Seattle raises some suspicions. Sure, maybe he needed that 48 hours to continue his recovery and get to where he needed to be, but it's hard to imagine too much changed between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

Pickett's note about never having a discussion with the Steelers' staff about being the backup QB last week also seems a bit strange given he said if he were healthy enough then he would have started.

Now he's all of a sudden healthy enough to be the backup QB, but not the starting QB. It's all very interesting.