Ben Roethlisberger admits he didn't want Kenny Pickett to 'come ball out' for Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger waited until the end of his nearly 90-minute sit-down with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett to drop a truth bomb.
"I'll be completely honest, I'll be super transparent here, and I'm gonna get blasted," Roethlisberger, who quarterbacked the Steelers from 2004-2021, said on his "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger" podcast. "I probably shouldn't say this, but who cares at this point. I wouldn't say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but like, you know when someone comes to replace you, I still feel like I had it, 'I hope he doesn't come ball out.' Because then it's like, Ben who?"
The Steelers selected Pickett, who played in college at Pittsburgh, in the first round of the 2022 draft (20th overall). He made his debut Week 4 against the New York Jets and started 12 of the team's final 13 games, and the Steelers won six of his final seven starts. Pickett finished with seven passing touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Pickett averaged 4.3 rushing yards per carry on 55 attempts, and Roethlisberger said Pickett surprised him with his running capabilities, mobility and toughness.
"As you started playing, I found myself rooting more and more for you," Roethlisberger said. "I wanted you to succeed, I wanted you to win games, I wanted you to go in the playoffs. I feel bad that I felt that early on, but I'm glad I transitioned to loving and rooting for you.
"And I think the fans … they are lucky they got you."
Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls with the Steelers and is the team's all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
"Early on I didn't want you to succeed because you followed me up – I didn't want it to happen," Roethlisberger said. "I think that's probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it."
But by the third game he watched Pickett play, Roethlisberger converted into a Pickett believer, saying on his podcast in January that the rookie was "even more than I thought he was going to be."
The two text after games, according to Roethlisberger.
"It means the world," Pickett said of his predecessor forming a relationship with him. "A lot goes into playing quarterback in the NFL … to hear him say that, it's special. I hope I can continue to carry the legacy."
Roethlisberger responded: "You will."
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