Steelers' Owner Art Rooney II Reveals Big Disappointment From 2023-24 Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 season was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The highs were very high, like when they were 6-3 and recognized as a top tier AFC football team, and the lows were tremendously low. It seemed like the season was over after losing three straight down the stretch. In an interview with KDKA-TV's Bob Pompeani, Steelers' owner Art Rooney II had a chance to share what he thought was the most upsetting part of the season.

Steelers' Quarterback Kenny Pickett Suffers Ankle Injury

The most impactful loss for Pittsburgh, according to Rooney, wasn't one of the embarrassing performances at Acrisure Stadium against two teams that had only won two games at the time. The huge loss came in the second quarter of the first of the three game losing streak. Hosting the Arizona Cardinals (2-10), and for the first game back in Pittsburgh without Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, the Steelers were looking to take the next step in their season to become true AFC contenders. 

Quarterback Kenny Pickett went down with a serious ankle injury as he was attempting to rush for a touchdown. He was able to get off the field under his own power, but he would not return. This would be the start of the three-game losing skid, as backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky led the way. Pickett would not return for the rest of the season, missing the last five regular season games and their Wild Card match up against the Buffalo Bills after Mason Rudolph earned the starting job.

"It was too bad Kenny got hurt and could not finish the season. Would have liked to have seen what he did down the stretch. Obviously, the season before he got stronger down the stretch, so it would've been nice to see that," Rooney said.

Pickett and the rest of the Steelers' offense had been struggling all season under Canada, but as they let Canada go after their Week 11 match up against the Cleveland Browns, the offense started to show improvement. In Pickett and co's first game without Canada, the offense totaled for over 400 yards, which was the first time they had done so in 59 games. 

Through the first 10 games of the season, Pickett only averaged 172.2 yards per game passing and a completion percentage of 60.4%. In his first game under a new play caller, Pickett threw for 278 yards and a 72.7 completion percentage. The Steelers offense looked like a new group, an excited one, and it seemed like they had intentions of doing some damage heading into the second half of the season. 

The Steelers have said that they plan on giving Pickett competition in the quarterbacks room as they head into the 2024 season. Who may that competition be? That is still to be seen. Rudolph came into the season for the final three games after Trubisky led the team to three straight losses. Rudolph played well for a long-time backup

Rudolph proved to the Steelers and the rest of the league that he is capable of having the ball in his hands and getting the job done. The backup led the Steelers to three straight wins, and ultimately was the reason they reached the postseason. Rudolph is set to be a free agent this offseason, and the Steelers are hoping that Rudolph can return, possibly to be the competition they want for Pickett. Rooney stated what he would like to see out of the offense going forward.

"The next step, number one, would look like more points, week in and week out. Just being a more effective offense, continuing to do some of the things we were able to do this year in terms of ball control, being able to run effectively, but then add on top of that, scoring more touchdowns."

The 2024-'25 season will be the big test for Pickett, as Head Coach Mike Tomlin has said. After two years, the quarterback just hasn't found it yet, although he has shown small sample sizes of being a good quarterback. Rooney II and the Steelers have a lot of hope for the quarterback, but will it pay out?