Ben Roethlisberger admits stunning truth about Kenny Pickett
We didn't expect this from Big Ben.
The Football Feed
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett certainly has some big shoes to fill, considering that he's following in the footsteps of franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger.
And according to the man himself, he didn't even want his heir apparent to be too successful. Roethlisberger explained during a recent episode of his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast that he feared being forgotten by Steelers fans if Pickett began to "ball out".
"I'll be completely honest. And I'll be super transparent. I'm gonna get blasted," Roethlisberger said. "I probably shouldn't say this. But, I mean, who cares at this point. I wouldn't say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail. 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 him to succeed, 'cause I didn't want him to follow me up," Roethlisberger said. "I didn't want it to happen. I think that's probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it. 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."
