Locked On Steelers: Reaction to Big Ben on Kenny Pickett, OTA Preview

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Dec 6, 2024

Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Kenny Pickett

Ben Roethlisberger admitted that at first, he was not rooting for Kenny Pickett to succeed as the new quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, following in Roethlisberger’s footsteps.

In Roethlisberger’s latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, with Pickett alongside as a guest Roethlisberger admitted that he still felt like he could play and was pushed out of his starting role in Pittsburgh, and that resentment led to what he called selfish feelings about the first-round quarterback that followed him.

“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.”

What does the interaction say about Roethlisberger? How about the play of Pickett? Alan Saunders of Steelers Now joined Chris Carter on the Locked On podcast to talk about it, plus also preview what to watch for ahead of Steelers OTAs, which start at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday.