Former Pitt QB Kenny Pickett Heads to Fifth NFL Team
Former Pitt quarterback and Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett is headed to his fifth NFL team in five years.
Pickett, a first-round draft choice in 2022, signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers on Monday. The deal is worth $7.5 million with $4 million in guarantees, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Pickett will call Bank of America Stadium home in 2026, the very stadium he helped Pitt capture an ACC championship during the 2021 season. In the 45-21 win over Wake Forest, Pickett completed 20-of-33 passes for 253 yards and two touchdown passes. He also added his “fake slide” touchdown run of 58 yards to open the scoring.
After Pittsburgh selected Pickett with the 20th overall pick in 2022, the Ocean Township, N.J. native showed some promise in his first year with the organization in 12 starts, but his career has since gone backwards.
His rookie year came as his best seasonal statistically, completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,404 passing yards, seven touchdowns and 237 rushing yards — all career highs. He did throw nine interceptions and fumbled three times.
Pickett would start all 12 games he appeared in during the 2023 season with Pittsburgh, posting a 7-5 record before getting hurt late in Week 13. He completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.
Following the 2023 season, Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent one year with his childhood team in which he backed up starter Jalen Hurts. Pickett was a member of the 2024 Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning team. He appeared in five games with 291 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Last year, Pickett started camp with Cleveland following a trade, but then would be moved once again to the Las Vegas Raiders. He appeared in six games with the Raiders in which he completed 28-of-45 (62.2%) of his passes for 188 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked eight times, fumbled once and rushed for 22 yards.
Pickett, 27, will look to backup Carolina starter Bryce Young. Pickett owns a 16-11 as a starter in the NFL. He has compiled 4,953 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Pickett spent five seasons at Pitt as he grew into one of the top quarterbacks in the country by his fifth year.
In 2021, Pickett helped the Panthers to an 11-2 record and capture their first ACC championship. He completed 67% of his passes for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns — both setting single-season program records — to only seven interceptions. He also added five rushing touchdowns, which brought his total to 47 on the year, another program single-season record.
Thanks to his outstanding 2021 campaign, Pickett was a Heisman finalist, All-American and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winner and ACC Player of the Year.
Across his Pitt career, Pickett became the all-time program leader in passing yards (12,303), pass completions (1,045), passing touchdowns (81), most 300-yard passing games (16) and most 400-yard passing games (five).
