QB Kenny Pickett (8.14.25)
Kenny, you’ve obviously gone against Quinyon (Mitchell) and Cooper (DeJean) plenty last season. Where have you seen them over these last two days make the biggest advancement in their game?
“Yeah, I was talking to Q (Quinyon Mitchell) a little bit in between some of the periods. Just his understanding of the defense now being a year in, having a full year of experience, and then kind of understanding what offenses are trying to do attacking the defense that they play. So, I think he’s done a great job. He obviously was phenomenal last year for them. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does this year.”
How are you coming along with the hamstring and where are you at and what’s the outlook?
“Yeah, I feel like I’m turning the corner a little bit this week, which is really positive. I was able to run, you know, a little bit more yesterday, so I’m getting there. Just taking a day at a time. You know, obviously it’s extremely frustrating. I’m only being able to get like seven-on-sevens lately and some 1-on-1s, but just focused on trying to take advantage of those as much as I can.”
Do you feel like next week you should be able to, knock on wood, be able to get out there?
“I can’t say that yet. It’s… you know, it’ll be close.”
Have they told you, “Hey, you know, anything can still happen and keep your head in this competition because it’s not over yet”?
“It was never even mentioned. I think, you know, we’re all just going a day at a time. You know, going through camp, you know, they’ll make that decision whenever they want to make that decision. But I’m just trying to put my best foot forward on the reps that I do get right now.
How did it feel being back here?
“It was great. It was great. You know, you have a special season like that, you kind of build a bond with people for life. So being able to see everyone that I played with last year, coaches, trainers. I went in the cafeteria and saw all the, you know, all the people back there, and got to give some hugs. So, it was great. You know, it holds a special place in my heart for that year, really glad we were back here for this camp to go see everybody.”
We haven’t had a chance to talk to you really, since the Super Bowl. What did it mean to you to be out there late in that game?
“Yeah, it was awesome. You know, the five-year-old in me would have been going crazy back in the day. I remember watching Donovan McNabb, all those old days when he was making his runs and, you know, to be able to be a part of that team was awesome. Having my parents there, my family, my wife, it was really cool.”
You were obviously a big part of that quarterback room last year, especially with Tanner McKee. What have you noticed in his development? Do you still talk to him like, you know, just, how’s the relationship?
“Yeah, we just talked a little bit yesterday and today. You know, I think the system – I don’t know if it’s changing or a little different. Just kind of talking through some of those things, talking again about our defense that he was playing out there today. Tanner’s (McKee) an awesome guy, man. I know he’s going to do a great job for them. You know, he’s prepared for it. He’s a true pro, goes about his business the right way. So really happy for him.”
Kenny, how bizarre is it or I don’t even know if that’s the right word, but after you get injured, then Dillon (Gabriel) gets injured, now Shedeur (Sanders) is injured. And just this whole four-way quarterback competition took these unexpected twists.
“Yeah, it’s a wild game. You know, it’s football. You know, everyone — I got my own problems to worry about. I’m just focused on my recovery. You never want to see anyone go down. We all want to be out there competing, so it’s a tough deal, but I know each guy is trying to get back out there and be 100%.”
Kenny, I don’t know if frustration is the right word, but I know you mentioned it a couple of times, so just managing that part of dealing with the soft hamstring injury?
“I try to give myself 24 hours to be as angry as I could be and then just turn the page, you know, every day doing as much as I can. It truly is a 24/7 grind to try to get back 100%. So, I’m doing absolutely everything I can. Hopefully I can push it to get out there. I want to be smart, but at the same time I want to be out there competing. So, you’re kind of like walking that fine line.”
I think you talked about this back in the offseason, but just the experiences you had last year in Philly (Philadelphia), what ways have you brought that to this team, this locker room, this quarterback room?
“Yeah, I think… I talked to Tommy (Rees) a lot about what we did last year, and I think he does a great job of looking at, you know, what other teams do, what other systems and concepts have been really successful for other teams. And he asked me a lot, he’ll be like, ‘what were your favorite five from Philly, favorite five from Pittsburgh.’ I’m sure he’s done the same with Joe (Flacco). He’s just always looking to make the system better and put our guys in the best places to succeed. So, you know, I think we go back and forth on a lot of the things that we did. We pull up tape, we kind of go through it that way. So, we have a quarterback room with a lot of knowledge and experience, you know, with Joe (Flacco) and Deshaun’s (Watson) played a lot of football too, so, I try to add as much as I can, so I think that’s probably the main way.”
What were you really excited about in terms of your progress in those first four practices? It seemed like you were really coming along there.
“Yeah, I felt, I think I touched on it before the five weeks at home, I really just dedicated to studying the playbook and going through it on the field, you know, training hard, being in the best shape that I felt like I have been in my life for the competition. So, I came back ready to go. You know, obviously the injury is unfortunate, but I kind of, I feel like I’m keeping that same thing in the seven-on-seven reps that I get, just trying to be as accurate as I can be, make the right read and move on to the next play. So that’s really my mindset right now.”
Kenny, I’m sorry if they asked you this. I just walked in. But you know this (Philadelphia) Eagles defense better than anybody. From your vantage point, watching the offense, your offense these two days, how do you think they did overall?
“I thought they did a great job. I thought, you know, there’s positives, there’s negatives, there’s always going to be that. We definitely want to clean up the pre-snap stuff, something the coaches are harping on, you know, that we need to get cleaned up as an offense. But I thought it was a good battle for both days. I think there was highs on both sides. You know, there were some lows on both sides, but the competitiveness, the want to, was there. I really liked the way we competed. Guys were going at it, so it was a positive.”
Especially in a setting like this, how much are you staying involved in the conversations with the other quarterbacks?
“Heavily. Yeah, as heavily as I can be because I’m not getting those reps. I kind of stand in the back and go through the checks, go through the cadence, trying to steal as much as I can. And then when those guys come off, I try to help them out too, you know, tell them what I saw, ask them what they saw and kind of talk through the play. Then you have the meetings again to go over that and kind of have that open dialogue. So, it’s been good from that standpoint.”
I know you have your own issues to deal with, but did Shedeur (Sanders), you know, seek you out a little bit just for any kind of consolation or did you have any words of advice for him for the oblique thing that happened yesterday?
“Yeah, I mean, yeah, we’re in the training room together and we just talked about it. I mean, he’s awesome. He’s got a great attitude about it. You know, he’ll be back out there as soon as he can be just like I can. So, I really like his attitude and how he’s going about his business.”
Kenny, Harold Fannin (Jr.) had a big day today especially. He had a drop early, kind of came back from it. How have you seen him progress? And just having two big targets like him and (David) Njoku, how does that help a quarterback?
“I think we have an unbelievable tight end room. Obviously with Dave (David Njoku), everyone knows what he can do, but Harold’s (Fannin Jr.) really stepped up. You know, I’m really impressed with the intensity that he practices. He’s such a quiet guy. And then he goes in there and really competes hard and he’ll take on a MIKE backer and run plays and a defensive end one-on-one. He’ll take them on with no problem and then go out there and run great routes. So, I’m really impressed with Harold (Fannin Jr.) and what I think he can bring to this team, if he stays on the track that he’s on right now.”
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