Did Ocean Township grad Kenny Pickett refuse to play for Steelers? He says no.

Kenny Pickett wants to be the Steelers starting quarterback.

And, according to the Ocean Township High School graduate, he never refused to be the backup.

Pickett suffered a high ankle sprain during the first game of December. He underwent a surgical procedure and has been sidelined ever since.

But Pittsburgh shock jock Mark Madden wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Pickett was healthy enough to return for the final game of 2024, however he refused to back up Steelers starter Mason Rudolph.

Pickett said that's not remotely true.

“There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a two,” Pickett said, according to Steelerswire.usatoday.com. “If I was healthy enough to play and the trainers and coaches felt like I looked good enough to play, I was going to start and play if they believed that I was not, which they believed I was not, was not going to dress and suit up for the game.

“So whoever reported that, I dunno where it started. It’s kind of crazy what people will write and put out there to try to prove their point or help their standpoint or their careers and what you guys do. But disappointed to see that without any proof or basis of it.”

If Pickett did refuse, he must have had a change of heart. He will serve as the backup to Rudolph against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday afternoon.

Pickett, a University of Pittsburgh grad, was the 20th pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he completed 245 of 389 passes for 2,404 yards, with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

This year, Pickett has thrown for 2,070 yards and six touchdowns for the Steelers, which are 9-7 and still in the playoff hunt headed into the last week of the regular season.

Pittsburgh is 2-2 since Pickett went down, losing its first two before rebounding to win its next two. Rudolph is 2-0 as a starter after backing up Mitch Trubisky the first two games.

Pickett is not only a former Ocean Township star, but he's married to Amy Paternoster, a former Wall High School soccer star who went on to play college soccer at Princeton.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kenny Pickett denies Mark Madden report that he refused to play