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Ben Roethlisberger Shared His Biggest Concern About Steelers QB Situation This Season

Madison Williams

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger watches the Steelers warm up from the sidelines prior to the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on November 13, 2022.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger watches the Steelers warm up from the sidelines prior to the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on November 13, 2022. / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Pittsburgh Steelers dealt with a quarterback competition all offseason, ending with Russell Wilson being named the starter and Justin Fields being installed as his backup.

The quarterback competition seemed very reminiscent of the past two Steelers seasons' competitions between Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett. In 2022, coach Mike Tomlin named Trubisky the starter to open the season, but once he started struggling, Pickett replaced him. Fans booed Trubisky in his struggles and chanted for Pickett to start.

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who retired after the 2021 season, is worried this season could spark a similar crowd reaction if Wilson struggles, especially since Fields already has a Steelers fanbase after his preseason appearances. He explained his concern while speaking on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.

"My concern is if Russ struggles, that Justin fanbase is going to start to kind of grow," Roethlisberger said. "We saw it last year. Mitch Trubisky was the starter. As soon as he starts doing bad, they're chanting for Kenny. And, then when Kenny struggled, they start chanting for Mitch. When you have two guys, it can be tricky. But I know Coach T can handle it. It's going to be a unique situation as the season unfolds."

If the crowd chanting unfolds as Roethlisberger is (sort of) predicting, then it won't be anything new for the Steelers. The team has struggled to find a franchise quarterback since Roethlisberger retired. He was the team's starter for 18 seasons.

Wilson will make his official Steelers regular season debut in the team's Week 1 game vs. the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. ET.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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