Steelers' Kenny Pickett denies refusing to be No. 2 quarterback against Seahawks

Saying he felt like his character was attacked, Kenny Pickett strongly denied accusations that he refused to be the backup quarterback behind starter Mason Rudolph on Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 30-23 victory at Seattle.

Pickett addressed the allegations Tuesday morning before practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

“There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a (number) two,” Pickett said. “If I was healthy enough to play and trainers and coaches felt like I looked good enough to play, I was going to start and play.

“If they believed I was not, which they believed, I was not going to dress and suit up for the game.”

Mitch Trubisky served as the backup to Rudolph for the second game in a row. Pickett, meanwhile, sat out his fourth consecutive game because of a high ankle sprain that required a procedure known as tightrope surgery.

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Allegations of Pickett’s refusal to be the No. 2 quarterback surfaced on social media Monday, a day after Rudolph led the Steelers to their second win in a row to keep them in the playoff hunt heading into the season finale at Baltimore.

“I’m disappointed to see that without any proof or basis of it,” Pickett said, adding that he felt like it “was attacking my character and how I was as a person.”

Pickett indicated he did not have any say in whether he or Trubisky would be the backup against Seattle.

“If Mason did not play well, I feel like I would have had to go in there earlier than they wanted me to,” he said. “That’s just the truth of the situation. … With where I was in my recovery, they didn’t want to push it and try for me to suit up and get thrown in there.”

Pickett said he has been cleared to be the No. 2 quarterback Saturday when the Steelers face the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. For the first time since his injury, Pickett on Tuesday was listed as a full participant at practice on the official injury report.

“They feel good four weeks out from surgery for me to dress and be the two,” he said. “So, I will be the two and do what I have to do to get ready for Baltimore.”

Coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Pickett was cleared medically to play at Seattle but that “clarity didn’t come until later in the week, and it was about the distribution of reps and who was best prepared and positioned to help us win.”

Pickett claimed he would have started against Seattle if he had gotten cleared earlier.

“I was going to start and play or if they didn’t feel I was good enough to do that, healthy enough, I was going to be the three and not dress,” he said.

Pickett said he understands why Tomlin will give Rudolph a third consecutive start, but he’s also disappointed he won’t be the starting quarterback with the Steelers’ playoff fate hanging in the balance. The easiest path for the Steelers to make the playoffs is to beat Baltimore on Saturday afternoon and have either Buffalo lose at Miami or Jacksonville lose at Tennessee on Sunday.

“As a competitor, you want the ball in the most crucial situations of the game,” he said. “I want the ball in the biggest games of the season. That is what you work for, what you do. One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity, and Mason played well when he got in there.

“I have a ton of respect for Mason and everything he’s done and what our team is doing. My job now that I’m back healthy is to be the backup, and if something happens, if he goes down, be ready to go and continue to support him the way I have been.”

Rudolph said he will take the same approach as the previous two weeks when he wasn’t certain he would be starting until after the final practice of the week. In each instance, Rudolph formally was announced as the starter after Tomlin exited the practice field.

Tomlin already has said Rudolph will start a third game in a row.

“I told myself in the early portions of the last two weeks that I’m playing; that is what coach told me,” Rudolph said. “Until told otherwise, I’m playing. I try not to worry about if the rug is going to get pulled out from you at the end of the week.”