Kenny Pickett is clearly the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback of the moment and, they hope, in the future.
The team sent a clear message about how it feels about Pickett on Monday, elevating the second-year player to the role of captain.
The Steelers announced Monday that Pickett, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, and special teams player Miles Killebrew are the team’s 2023 captains.
It’s notable that Pickett earned that nod in his second season. For what it’s worth, Ben Roethlisberger didn’t get that title until his fifth season with the team.
“The way he approaches each day, the way he grasps the offense, he really has a voice,” left tackle Dan Moore said of Pickett, via Joe Rutter of the Tribune-Review. “I talk to a lot of guys about it. Kenny has ‘it.’ I don’t know what that ‘it’ is, but he has it.”
Pickett was also team captain in his final two seasons with the Pitt Panthers.
He also replaces running back Najee Harris and quarterback Mitch Trubisky as the team’s offensive captain. Harris and Trubisky wore the captain logo last year.
Heyward has been a team captain for nine seasons while Watt is in his third season as captain and Killebrew has been captain of the special teams for two years running.
[TribLive]
