STEELERS LEGEND BEN ROETHLISBERGER ADMITS HE DID NOT WANT QB KENNY PICKETT TO SUCCEED
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted on a podcast episode released on Sunday, May 21st that he wasn’t rooting for Steelers 2022 first-round selection, quarterback Kenny Pickett last season. Roethlisberger was speaking on his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast and had Pickett on as the episode’s guest.
“I’m going to be transparent about this,” said Roethlisberger. “I’m going to get blasted. I probably shouldn’t say this but who cares at this point. I wouldn’t say that I wanted Kenny [Pickett] to necessarily fail. But, you know, when someone comes to replace you, you know, I still felt like I had it. I hope he doesn’t, like, ball out because then it’s like, ‘Ben who?’
“I thought you [Pickett] would be a quarterback that was good, that was going to come in and I think you are the future of this team. I really do. I think the fans should be lucky. They are lucky they got you. That’s what I’m going to say. I’ll say earlier on, I didn’t want him to succeed. He followed me up, I didn’t want that to happen. I think that’s probably the selfishness of me and I feel bad for it.”
Roethlisberger revealed that he started to come around to Pickett as he started playing, and that he found himself “rooting more and more”. He told Pickett, “Honestly, I think as you started playing I found myself rooting more and more for you. We sat down here and watched games. We were high-fiving going nuts when you were leading the team and doing things. And running, trying to fight people, all that stuff.”
“As it went on, as the season went on, I was rooting for him. I was excited for you. I wanted you to succeed. I wanted you to win the games. I wanted you to get to the playoffs. I feel bad that I felt that earlier on but I’m glad that I transitioned into loving, rooting for you.”
Less than two months to his 40th birthday, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger announced his retirement from the league in January last year and set in motion the Pittsburgh Steelers’ commencement of the search for his replacement ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. After a search of the country’s top draft prospects at quarterback, the Steelers would look no further than quarterback Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh and ended up selecting him with the 20th overall pick. Pickett was the first quarterback taken off the board.
The former Pitt Panther would have an up-and-down rookie year, making 12 starts and ending up with a respectable 7-5 record that included memorable wins against the Las Vegas Raiders in week 16 and the Baltimore Ravens in week 17. Pickett became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter in two straight games.
The 24-year-old, however, suffered two concussions last year, which might be a worry for the Steelers going into what is expected to be a tough AFC North battle in 2023. The team locked down backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky as insurance last week but are expected to do everything possible to keep Pickett healthy through the entirety of the upcoming season.
After being named the team’s starter by Head Coach Mike Tomlin in October, Pickett finished the season throwing for 2,404 receiving yards, 9 interceptions and 7 touchdowns to add to the three scores he had on the ground.
Two-time Super Bowl champion, Ben Roethlisberger also admitted on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger that he didn’t know how good Pickett was going to be ahead of the season and apologized to him as the season went on. “I just didn’t know,” said Roethlisberger. “I had no idea. I didn’t know that you were the runner that you were. I just didn’t know what was going to happen. I wasn’t aware and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m glad that I was wrong in the sense of where I had you.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Andy. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.