Steelers Legend Ben Roethlisberger Hoped Kenny Pickett Failed
PITTSBURGH -- The passing of the torch from Ben Roethlisberger to Kenny Pickett wasn't as easy as one would think. The future Hall of Famer retired the year before the first-round pick arrived, but the harsh feelings of believing he could still play loomed over him during Pickett's rookie season. So much so, that Big Ben found himself hoping for Pickett's downfall.
During the most recent episode of Footbahlin, Roethlisberger admitted to Pickett that he wasn't rooting for his success at first.
"I’m gonna be super transparent here. I’m gonna get blasted, I probably shouldn’t say this, but who cares at this point," Roethlisberger told Pickett. "I wouldn’t say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but like when someone comes to replace you and you still feel like you had it. I hope he doesn’t come ball out because then it’s like ‘Ben who?"
Roethlisberger said it took him about three games before he was rooting for Pickett, but now believes he's the new face of the franchise, and is excited to root him on.
"Early on, I didn’t want him to succeed because he was following me up. I didn’t want it to happen," Roethlisberger said. "That’s probably the selfishness of me and I feel bad for it, but as the season went on and it got to his third game playing, I was rooting for him. I was excited for you and I wanted you to succeed, I wanted you to win games, I wanted you to get to the playoffs. I feel bad that I felt that early on but I’m glad that I transitioned to the love of rooting for you."
Pickett finished the season with a 7-5 record, leading the Steelers to a 9-8 finish on the year. This year, there won't be an negative feelings from the future Hall of Famer, as he watches and roots for the quarterback that follows him.
"I was pleasantly surprised. I am glad that I was wrong in the sense of where I had you. I think you’re the future of this team, I really do," Roethlisberger said. "… It’s been fun watching you. I enjoy texting you after games. It’s been fun watching you, man. I am a fan."
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