Paul Kengor: On virtue, the Steelers and Kenny Pickett

Cicero insisted that what a citizenry needs above all is virtue, which he defined as prudence, practical wisdom, one that eschews vice.

In his excellent 2009 book, “Politics for the Greatest Good: The Case for Prudence in the Public Square,” Clarke Forsythe notes that prudence is concerned with right action, and requires deliberation, judgment, decision and execution. Forsythe says that prudence involves making the right decisions and implementing those decisions well.

These are things that ought to be considered around the Steelers front offices.

Pittsburgh sports fans surely don’t expect a philosophical rumination on virtue as your humble columnist weighs in on the Kenny Pickett trade to the Philadelphia Eagles. Then again, I’m paid not to write about sports but rather to dally in these occasional celestial navigations. So, please indulge me.

The Kenny Pickett trade occurred two weeks ago and was shocking. It has had many of us searching for explanations for a move that seemed baffling—nonsensical. When I first heard about the trade two Fridays ago, I was as dumbfounded as disappointed.

In Pickett, the Steelers two years ago had drafted a local hero, a Pitt quarterback who was a Heisman candidate. When the legendary Franco Harris ecstatically announced the Pickett pick on draft night, April 28, 2022, Steelers Nation went wild.

The 2023 season began with tremendous enthusiasm. Pickett exploded with one of the statistically best preseasons in NFL history . They were predictions of the Steelers winning 12, 13, 14 games, going to the playoffs, maybe even the Super Bowl. Though the regular season started rough, Pickett led the team to a solid 7-4 record. Most significant, in his first and only game after the firing of Matt Canada, he was terrific, with his best performance of the year — before an effectively season-ending injury in his next game.

Still, the future held promise for the assumed franchise QB. And at season’s end, as chronicled by the Trib’s Tim Benz, Steelers’ coaches and management were assuring fans of their faith in Kenny Pickett.

But then, everything fell apart in mere days after the signing of veteran Russell Wilson to a one-year deal. By the end of that week, Pickett was dealt to Philadelphia.

We’re all still trying to piece together how this happened. Mike Tomlin addressed it only partly this week. Judging from reports, it looks like it went down something like this:

After being assured at season’s end that he would be the No. 1 QB, Pickett was suddenly told he would back up Wilson. That came even after the Steelers had hired a new offensive coordinator who seemed to be brought in to at long last give Pickett precisely the game schemer he needed.

Apparently, Pickett was not happy and asked to be traded. It was a natural reaction by a young man who responded emotionally.

And that’s when a bunch of mistakes rapidly unfolded, many of which — yes — I would chalk up to behavior that wouldn’t have struck Cicero as, well, very virtuous.

The first sign of that behavior came from the Steelers, who had reneged. Indeed, as Benz noted, the team had so quickly betrayed its “full faith” in Pickett that it’s now hard to trust anything team management and coaches say.

But though he rightly felt betrayed, Pickett would have been prudent to suck it up, despite his justified anger, and stay in Pittsburgh to fight for that No. 1 position or, at worst, back up Wilson for the year or two he’ll be here. That would keep him steadfast in his and the team’s one-time plan that he be the long-term replacement of Big Ben.

Instead, Pickett chose to bolt to his home team in Philadelphia, where he will back up young superstar QB Jalen Hurts. Pickett in his frustration retreated to a team where he will not play unless Hurts suffers a major injury.

What reward did Pickett get from this? Other than a shorter drive home to see his parents?

As for the Steelers during that tumultuous week, what did they get? They lost their one-time hero and presumed franchise QB for three draft picks, two in the final round. They had only Wilson (the Pickett trade was announced before the Justin Fields trade), a one-year veteran finishing up his career. They traded potential short-term gain for the long-term investment in Pickett.

The Steelers did not act prudently nor decently with Pickett on a personal or professional level.

Pickett’s request in anger to be traded was an understandably rash move by a young athlete. Young athletes need time to develop emotionally (Big Ben was a perfect example of that). The adults in the Steelers organization, whether Mike Tomlin or General Manager Omar Khan or own Art Rooney II, should have paid a visit to Pickett at his home, sat down with him and his young wife, calmed him down, urged him to think things over for a few days or weeks, and aimed to keep in Pittsburgh.

Did the Steelers send anyone of substance to intervene with Pickett? A pastor? The legendary Chief, Art Rooney, would have sent a priest from his parish on the North Side.

The Pickett investment by the Steelers was special. The signings of Wilson and Fields (speaking of virtue, Wilson strikes me as genuinely virtuous) seems almost mercenary. It’s especially uncharacteristic for a franchise renowned for its stability and loyalty rather than aggressively plucking off the free-agent wire. Pickett’s ties here were special. There was a deep and developing relationship, a bond. And just like that, it was severed.

Both sides lost. Those celebrating loudest are the brutal fans and sportswriters dancing on Pickett’s grave and reveling in his dispatch to Philadelphia. Some of them are downright vicious. I need not call them out. We know who they are. Incidentally, charity is one of the three cardinal virtues.

But above all, this whole mess lacked the virtue of prudence, of carefully deciding wisely. Cicero said that virtue is its own reward. It’s hard to see the rewards in this fiasco.