Recently retired Ben Roethlisberger said Mitchell Trubisky should replace him as starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Having retired in January after 18 seasons in the NFL, Roethlisberger believes that rookie Kenny Pickett, drafted in the first round of the last draft, is not ready for this role.
Trubisky will enter his sixth season in the NFL.
“I think Mitchell Trubisky is the starter. He should start, said the former pivot, during the first episode of his podcast “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” posted online on Sunday. He’s a veteran, he’s been around for a while. He gives you, in my opinion, the best chance of winning right now.”
Knowledgeable observer
Without giving away his game, head coach Mike Tomlin had indicated during training camp that Pickett was doing a lot of good things to build on. He added, however, that Trubisky, like Mason Rudolph, had also shown encouraging signs.
From the outside, Roethlisberger saw the same thing. However, he believes that there is a good difference between preseason games and regular season games.
“You watch [Pickett], from what I saw in preseason, you wouldn’t be like, “Oh, he’s a rookie, he’s got a learning curve to go through.” But it will, because when the regular season resumes [le jeu] gets faster, but I think he did a great job. I would say this about almost all rookies: It pays to be behind a veteran for a little while.
The future Hall of Famer also believes that Trubisky will be an excellent mentor for the newcomer.
«[Trubisky] is a great leader, a great football player, he’s a great athlete, he’s a good quarterback, he said. They brought him here for a reason, and I think he’s going to be a good mentor for Kenny.”
The Steelers kick off their season Sunday by visiting the Bengals in Cincinnati.
