For years, Ben Roethlisberger led the Pittsburgh Steelers to playoff contention, even helping them win their most recent two Super Bowl wins , writing his name in franchise history.
Big Ben was one of the best quarterbacks in the league during his prime, and the team even held on to him during his downfall out of respect for everything he did for the franchise.
So, when it was finally time to call it a career and move on, the Steelers leaned on Kenny Pickett to continue his legacy. Notably, Roethlisberger recently admitted that he didn’t want that to happen.
Ben Roethlisberger Admits He Didn’t Want Kenny Pickett To Do Well
“I’ll be completely honest, I’ll be super transparent here and I’m gonna get blasted,” Roethlisberger told Pickett. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but who cares at this point. I wouldn’t say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but 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?”
“Early on I didn’t want you to succeed because you followed me up, I didn’t want it to happen. I think that’s probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it,” Continued Big Ben.
“As you started playing, I found myself rooting more and more for you,” Roethlisberger admitted. “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.”
Well, that’s just the competitiveness that lives within those who made history. At least, he was honest about it and was able to move on and root for the guy who’ll look to carry his torch for years to come.