Kenny Pickett fails to impress fans during his Eagles debut: "You are a backup forever!"

Kenny Pickett has had a whirlwind of an offseason after being traded by the Steelers to the Eagles in the offseason. He was the successor to Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh but struggled under the weight of expectations and Matt Canada's play-calling. So, Mike Tomlin decided to bring in a veteran quarterback from whom he could learn and chose Russell Wilson.

Kenny Pickett reportedly did not take kindly to falling down the pecking order and rubbed the Steelers the wrong way. So, he was traded to the Eagles, where he has to now still be a backup but sit behind a younger quarterback ahead of him instead of a Super Bowl-winning veteran coming towards the end of their career.

That is not an ideal trajectory, going from the starter of the winningest franchise in the NFL to being a backup behind a player the same age as you.

And as he came on during the 2024 preseason game for the Eagles against the Ravens, fans were cruelly determined to remind him of his diminished status. All eyes were on him to see if he could show enough that there could be a legitimate discussion about whether he could challenge Jalen Hurts for the starting spot.

He failed to show anything to that extent, though it must be set in the context of the first game of the season when folks are still rusty and fringe players are on the field. But Kenny Pickett was still crucified on X, formerly known as Twitter, as they taunted him and said that he is slated to be a backup forever. Here are some of the reactions from the social media platform.

Others were equally scathing and some chose sarcasm as their tool to attack Pickett with. Here are some more responses on X.

"Wow! Kenny Pickett just set the Eagles preseason record with 21 consecutive pass attempts without an interception from a backup quarterback with the initials KP! What a historic moment!"

"pickett garbo, mckee should be backup and he hasnt even played yet"

"McKee will out play Pickett in this preseason but still will have ZERO shot at the backup spot."

What next for Kenny Pickett as Eagles backup QB?

Kenny Pickett is not in an ideal situation. Not only is he behind Jalen Hurts, a compatriot in terms of age, but he also has to compete with Tanner McKee, who has a year more worth of experience playing in the Eagles system. While a preseason game will not determine his future, he will have to take these limited opportunities to show he still has the ability to be a starter in the NFL.

By showing that he can do the job when required, another team that is struggling with their quarterback play might give him a look. Things will not be easy for him, but he will need to take heart from players like Geno Smith who have taken a mid-career slump in their stride only to rebound and establish themselves as starters.