The Pittsburgh Steelers fired Matt Canada from his post as offensive coordinator earlier this week, which was a move many felt was a long time coming.
After all, the Steelers rank just 28th in both yardage and scoring this season, and Canada was much-maligned for his questionable play-calling all year long.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett commented on Canada’s dismissal on Wednesday, saying that the offense needs to take it upon itself to fix its issues.
“It’s a challenge to everybody,” Pickett said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “I feel like you have to take it personal. It’s a guy you’ve worked with since I got drafted here, you want to play great, you don’t want to see anyone get let go like that. So absolutely we have to answer the bell, find out what we need to do to play better and then just go take care of business.”
Pickett has also been widely criticized for his play this season, and he didn’t do himself any favors with his performance this past Sunday when he went 15-for-28 with 106 yards in a listless loss to the Cleveland Browns.
The 25-year-old has been a big disappointment in his sophomore campaign, throwing for 1,722 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 60.5 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 79.2 through his first 10 games.
Pickett, who played his collegiate football at the University of Pittsburgh, was selected by the Steelers with the 20th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He had an underwhelming rookie year, totaling 2,407 yards, seven touchdowns and nine picks while completing 63 percent of his throws and registering a passer rating of 76.7 in 13 appearances and 12 starts.
Pickett’s play over his first two seasons has called into question his legitimacy as Pittsburgh’s quarterback of the future, so he has a lot to prove over the final month-and-a-half of 2023.
The Steelers are 6-4 and will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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