“It Might Be Smart to Shut Him Down”: Steelers Legend Ben Roethlisberger Shows Keen Interest in Rookie Kenny Pickett’s Concussion

Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger co-hosts a podcast along with Spencer Te’o called, ‘Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger’. This time, the podcast welcomed a former Pittsburgh star athlete. Pittsburgh Pirates’ former second baseman Neil Walker also joined the duo. In what was a long conversation, Roethlisberger showed quite some concern for a current Steelers rookie.

Kenny Pickett came in as successor to the great Ben Roethlisberger this year. The University of Pittsburgh star was drafted by the Steelers. Their legendary quarterback, Roethlisberger, hung up his boots at the end of the 2021 season.

Big shoes to fill for Kenny Pickett

Commonly known as ‘Big Ben’, Roethlisberger enjoyed his entire career in Pittsburgh and will be a future Hall of Famer for the NFL. As he discussed this week of the NFL, Big Ben took interest in his successor’s safety as Kenny Pickett missed out on their latest game.

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Citing a concussion, the rookie quarterback was out for the Steelers’ last game against the Panthers. In his absence, deputy Mitchell Trubisky took to the field and guided the Pittsburgh team to a comfortable 24-16 win.

Though his absence wasn’t felt in that particular game, Pickett has been a key member of the Steelers O-line. He has started every game since game week 5 and the young quarterback has made strides at that position. 

Ben Roethlisberger looks out for his successor

Keeping Pickett’s well-being in mind and also the Steelers’ poor season this year, Roethlisberger had a few words of wisdom for his former coach, Mike Tomlin. With the Steelers having a very narrow chance of making it to the postseason, Roethlisberger thinks it’s better to protect the young QB than risk the chance of him getting hit again. Having had the experience for it, the former Superbowl winner asked for Pickett to be shut out for the remainder of the season.

While he does recognize the importance of the reps, he also realizes how vital it is for the Steelers to preserve their QB’s noggin.  “It might be smart to shut him down. If he’s your guy of the future, which obviously he is, maybe it’s smart to do that. The last two games are against division opponents you want experience playing against, but you also don’t want to get [injured again],” said Roethlisberger on his podcast. He even concluded by saying, “The brain is the only thing you can’t get transplanted I believe.”

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While the Steelers prepare for the last few games, Coach Tomlin will want to follow his former QB’s wise words. The Steelers looked good with their deputy too. Gameweek 16 will showcase whether Pickett will take the field again or whether the season is pretty much done for the rookie QB.