There’s a “No. 1” reason why Kenny Pickett thinks the Carolina Panthers are a great fit for him.
But it may not be what you think.
It’s not because the franchise put on a full-court press for his evaluation and recruitment back in 2022, which included sending then-head coach Matt Rhule and then-general manager Scott Fitterer to his Pro Day.
It’s not because of his various connections with players on the current roster — like quarterback Andy Dalton, who he grew up watching and occasionally keeps up with; or outside linebacker Pat Jones II, who he played college ball with at Pittsburgh; or quarterback Bryce Young, who he met while both were Heisman finalists.
It’s not even because he won an ACC Championship in Bank of America Stadium. Though, as he admitted Tuesday, “The fact that it’s my home stadium now is pretty cool.”
The No. 1 reason, instead, had to do with something else.
Someone else.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
“No. 1, I think it was Coach Canales and the track record he has with quarterbacks at all the places he’s been,” Pickett said. “You know over his career, I’ve watched a lot of tape. I’ve seen him at different places and really like what he does.
“I feel like it’s been similar to what I’ve done in college and what I did in Philly. So off that bat, that’s No. 1 for me.”
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Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine, Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) Darron Cummings AP
Pickett and Canales go way back. Then an offensive assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks, Canales took Pickett to get lunch at a restaurant/brewery at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh during Pickett’s Pro Day four years ago. Pickett called Canales “a great person, one of the guys you really want to be around in this league and in this profession.”
And even after Pickett was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and then relocated around the league a bit, he kept tabs on Canales. In the season when he was on the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, Pickett watched as the Panthers fought down to the wire, until they were one catch away from dethroning Philly at home. In 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders, Pickett played understudy to Geno Smith for most of the season — and Smith had “nothing but great things to say” about Canales, the coach who’s credited for revitalizing Smith’s career in 2022.
“It’s a tough business,” Pickett said. “But great people make it a lot easier.”
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett makes a pass during the first quarter of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) Ian Maule Getty Images Kenny Pickett’s NFL career to date
To explain why Pickett calls the NFL “a tough business,” you’ll have to start at the beginning.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound QB was drafted 20th overall by the Steelers. By the end of his second year in Pittsburgh, however, he was backing up Mason Rudolph, and the Steelers elected to trade Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles for draft picks. He was QB2 to Jalen Hurts in 2024. Then, in 2025, he was signed by the Cleveland Browns during their QB chaos when they had five QBs on the same training camp roster — including current starter Shedeur Sanders.
Before that season began, however, Pickett landed in Las Vegas, where he was a backup again. He appeared in six games and made two starts. His stats: 188 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a 62.2% completion percentage.
That all led him to Carolina, where last week he signed to a one-year, $4 million deal, according to Over The Cap.
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Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett celebrates after scoring against Wake Forest on a 58-yard run during the first quarter of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. Jacob Kupferman AP Pickett on if he’ll be a starter again: ‘That’s the ultimate goal’
Pickett, now, has been on five NFL rosters as he enters his fifth year in the league. And he’s entering an offseason program that, again, could get interesting.
The Panthers, after all, were public about their desires to get younger at the QB2 position. General manager Dan Morgan said as much at the NFL Scouting Combine and elsewhere. Pickett is 27, more than a decade younger than Dalton, who turns 39 in October. Morgan said last month that “Andy knows he’s going to have to compete.”
It appears Pickett is aware of this brewing competition as well. But he’s unfazed by it, he said.
“I think it’s more a media/fan spectacle than it is a player deal,” Pickett said of a potential QB battle. “Regardless if you’re in a competition or not, you’re showing up to compete. Nothing really changes. At least from my point of view. I’m going in there to be the best player I can be to try to improve. So that’s the same if there is a competition or if there isn’t. I don’t think my life changes too much.”
Kenny Pickett #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders warms up prior to the game against the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steve Marcus Getty Images
That doesn’t mean he’s dismissing it. Pickett said Tuesday that he one day wants to become a starter in the league again — much like Daniel Jones was able to do, or Sam Darnold, or Malik Willis.
“Of course,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal. Things happen in this league, and you just keep working because you never know when that opportunity is going to come. I just want to be as prepared as I can be; you never know when that’s going to happen.”
He added: “I just really want to get into a great system with great people. I think that’s where I’m at now.”
The Charlotte Observer
Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22.
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