Jeff Saturday: Steelers' Kenny Pickett Is Playing For His Job In 2023 After Shocking Matt Canada Departure

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally decided to use Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada as a scapegoat after a Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns. After another underwhelming performance, Head Coach Mike Tomlin made the decision to move on from the offense's play-caller, who had been at the helm since the beginning of the 2021 season. The franchise will turn to running backs coach, Eddie Faulkner to be the new offensive coordinator while quarterbacks coach, Mike Sullivan will call the plays during games. This will be a huge test for quarterback, Kenny Pickett, who could be playing for a 2024 starting job the remainder of the 2023 campaign.

There have been countless reactions since the Steelers fired Canada. A common discussion has been focused on Pickett and what the change means to him specifically. On Wednesday, former NFL center and Super Bowl champion, Jeff Saturday joined ESPN's morning show, Get Up. His analysis of the decision to let go of Canada was directly on the quarterback. He now has no excuses not to perform at a much higher level than he has been.

"It's going to make a difference in Kenny Pickett because it's going to provide a spark in understanding, 'Hey, I'm playing for my job.' You just saw one dude take the fall. He's gone, and at this point, it's all on you."

Saturday served as the Indianapolis Colts interim head coach in 2022 and played 14 professional seasons. He knows a little bit about what it's like to be in all different kinds of locker rooms. It's easy to buy into his thinking. Pickett could have a serious competition to winning the starting job on his hands in 2024 if he doesn't rise up to the challenge in the team's final seven regular season games in 2023.

Much has been made of Pickett's lack of turnovers in his second season, but having only six touchdown passes in 10 games is absolutely unacceptable. The run game has gotten going in recent weeks, so a change in offensive play-calling philosophy that leads to more play-action passes could give Pickett the opportunity to show that he has what it takes to be the Steelers franchise quarterback.

Saturday continued with his thoughts regarding Pickett and emphasized, once again, that now that Canada is no longer in the picture, it falls solely on him to prove that his old play-caller was the main issue, and not himself.

"Now, all that pressure that was focused on Matt Canada, is gonna go to Kenny Pickett. Make no mistake about it how it falls in a locker room; that dude has to be your dude to compete in this division."

Pittsburgh sits as the seventh seed in the AFC with a big divisional game against the Cincinnati Bengals looming in Week 12. With Joe Burrow out for the rest of 2023, and the Bengals having what is expected to be the worst defense in the AFC North, everyone will get a glimpse at what Pickett can do without Canada leading the way on the sidelines.

There are way too many talented play-makers on the Steelers defense to put out such a poor display of offense week after week. There will likely be a expansive search in the 2024 offseason for the new offensive coordinator, but there also could be a significant discussion about the quarterback position if Pickett doesn't show growth in Weeks 12 through 18.

Steelers Can't Be Blinded By Pickett's Draft Positioning

Teams tend to hang onto first-round picks longer than necessary simply because of the investment that comes with them. Pickett was selected 20th overall in 2022 NFL Draft, but with the quarterback position being more important than it ever has been in the history of the NFL, a bad on-field production throughout the rest of 2023 should lead to the front office and Tomlin evaluating his future within the organization.