22 May 2023 , 15:06
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Ben Roethlisberger has admitted that he wanted his replacement at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kenny Pickett, to fail after he announced his retirement from the NFL.
The legendary quarterback walked away after the 2021 season following 17 years as quarterback with the historic franchise. During his incredible career, Roethlisberger finished with two Super Bowl championships, six Pro Bowl's and two-time passing yards leader.
But some feel that he should have retired prior to the 2021 season, when he greatly struggled in his final season, limiting the offense of a strong team. The Steelers were seen as a strong landing spot for a quarterback, but had limited options in a draft seen as the worst quarterback class in decades.
In the end, the team decided to draft Kenny Pickett - who had played at local college team Penn State, who also play in the same stadium as the Steelers - as the only quarterback to be taken in the first two rounds to replace Roethlisberger.
And his predecessor, Roethlisberger has admitted that he wanted Pickett to fail at first.
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Speaking openly on his podcast to Pickett, he said: "I’m going to be sure transparent about this. I’m going to get blasted, I probably shouldn’t say this... But when someone comes to replace you and you're like, I still feel like I had it, I hope he doesn't come ball out. Because then it's like, 'Ben who?'
"Early on, I didn’t want you to succeed. That’s selfishness in me, and I feel sorry for that." He then added that he's happy to see Pickett as his replacement, and looks forward to seeing him build on his first season.
Kenny Pickett had a promising rookie yearHe added: "But as it went on, as the season went on, he got into like the third game playing, I was rooting for him. I was excited for ya. I wanted you to succeed. I wanted you to win the games. I wanted you to get to playoffs. So, I feel bad that I felt that early on, but I'm glad that I transitioned into loving and rooting for you.
"It's been fun watching you. I enjoy texting you after games. It's been fun watching you, man. I'm a fan."
Pickett had a rough start to his career, and still has thrown more interceptions than thrown for at this point. However, he impressed mightily in the last few games of the season, giving fans much to look forward to this upcoming season.
The Steelers had one of the best NFL Draft classes, bringing in potentially four starting players in Broderick Jones (LT), Joey Porter Jr (CB), Keeanu Benton (DT) and Darnell Washington (TE)