Ben Roethlisberger admits not rooting for Kenny Pickett to "succeed" with Steelers - "Hope he doesn’t come ball out"
Legendary NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has admitted that he wasn’t keen on Kenny Pickett’s success. Pickett, a former Pittsburgh Panther, replaced the six-time Pro Bowler as starting play-caller for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.
In the latest episode of "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger," the two-time Super Bowl champion shared to co-host Spencer Te’o and Pickett himself:
“I’ll be completely honest. And I’ll be super transparent here, and I’m gonna get blasted. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I mean, who cares at this point?
“I wouldn’t say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but when someone comes to replace you, and I still feel like I had it, I hope he doesn’t come ball out because then it’s like, 'Ben, who?'
Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 NFL season, having led the Steelers to yet another playoff appearance. There were rumors regarding his retirement the season prior, but he signed a renegotiated contract to take a $5 million pay cut.
When Tom Brady canceled his retirement, many Steelers fans wanted Roethlisberger to do the same. Instead, the latter stuck to his word and hasn’t played professional football since.
However, he revealed last March that the San Francisco 49ers contacted him after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. He declined, making way for Brock Purdy’s brilliant run before he suffered an elbow injury.
Roethlisberger added:
“Early on, I didn’t want him [Pickett] to succeed because they followed me up. I didn’t want it to happen. I think that’s probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad about it… As you started playing, I found myself rooting more and more for you.
“You know what I’m saying? We sat down here and watched games and were high-fiving, going nuts when you were leading the team and doing things.”
While his playing days are over, Ben Roethlisberger’s name will be in the NFL record books for a while. He has the most 500-yard passing games (4) and most completions in a game (47). The former Miami, Ohio, standout is also tied for most perfect passer rating games with four.
The doubts surrounding Ben Roethlisberger’s successor
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was the only quarterback selected in the first round. Desmond Ridder, the next signal caller selected after him, went in the third round.
Pickett finished his final year at the University of Pittsburgh with 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns. Despite those numbers, there were doubts about his success in the NFL, mainly because of his hand size. People thought his 8 ½ inch hands might make him more prone to fumbling.
However, he did enough to prove the doubters wrong. He started 12 games in his rookie year, finishing with a 7-5 record. He had 2,641 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
Steelers fans have seen the changing of the guard from Ben Roethlisberger to Kenny Pickett get off to a promising start. They will hope he take another step forward in 2023.