“I was surprised because I didn’t think that Mitch was the main issue”- Ben Roethlisberger has an interesting take on Steelers benching Mitch Trubisky for Kenny Pickett
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2022 NFL season in unchartered territory. This is the first season since 2004 that Ben Roethlisberger hasn't been on the depth chart at the quarterback position. The Steelers started the season with veteran quarterback Mitchell Trubisky under center. But on Sunday against the New York Jets, the 1-2 Steelers decided to make a change at halftime and put in first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett.
Pickett made NFL history by scoring two rushing touchdowns in his NFL debut, something no quarterback has done before. The defense, without T.J. Watt, wasn't able to hold back the Jets, and the Steelers dropped their third straight game.
Two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Roethlisberger discussed the situation on a recent episode of the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. He was surprised that the Steelers made the change at halftime and believes that once you change the quarterback, you have to stick with it. Here's how he put it:
"I was surprised, because I didn't think that Mitch was the main issue. The whole offense looks stagnant to me. They're not running the ball real well. There's nothing really going on."
He went on to say:
"I get what you're trying to do. You're trying to create a spark, which I think happened. You will get a spark when you put someone new in at a position like that. It's going to create some sort of a spark, it's going to create energy. And you got that, but in my opinion, I don't know that it needed to happen, but Mike Tomlin is the coach, he did it, and everything kind of fell into place."
Roethlisberger also went on to say that he did text Kenny Pickett after his NFL debut. Pickett was a little upset about the interceptions, but Roethlisberger assured him that he was once in the same position:
"Hey, listen, I did it too. You’ll be fine.’ So that happened, but they still have life, they’re still going. He rushes for two touchdowns. And then I think he’s beating himself up a little bit on the second interception. Kenny texted me like, ‘I gotta throw that one away.’ And I’m like, ‘Listen, you’re talking to a guy that rarely ever threw a ball away, so, you know, just go play with confidence.'”
The Pittsburgh Steelers to move forward with Kenny Pickett under center
In the aftermath of the Steelers' 24-20 loss on Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin was non-committal regarding his starting quarterback for Week 5. Late Monday afternoon, however, news broke on social media that the team was likely to move forward with Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback.
On Tuesday morning, a new depth chart was released and Pickett is now listed as QB1 with Trubisky at second in the depth chart. Tomlin confirmed the news at his weekly press conference on Tuesday morning:
"We're sensitive to the situation at Mitch's end, but we also have a game to prepare for for Kenny."
Mike Tomlin announces Kenny Pickett as the new starter: https://t.co/GurIhOm8EI
Pittsburgh will now face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon. The franchise will start a rookie quarterback for the first time since the 2004 season when Roethlisberger made his career start. It will be fascinating to see how he gets on against one of the best teams in the NFL.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, Steelers.com and H/T Sportskeeda.