You can add another constant in life to death and taxes — star quarterbacks being upset when their team selects a potential successor.
Ben Roethlisberger is unhappy the Steelers did so when they selected Mason Rudolph in the third round of last week's draft.
Speaking to KDKA-FM Friday, Roethlisberger questioned the team's need to select another quarterback, especially since he said he told the Steelers he planned on playing another three to five seasons.
"I was surprised they took a QB because I thought maybe in the third round you can get some really good players that can help this team win now." said Roethlisberger. "Nothing against Mason, I think he’s a great football player; I don’t know him personally, but I’m sure he’s a great kid, I just don’t know how backing up or being the third guy, who knows where he’s going to fall on the depth chart, ... helps us win now. But, you know, that’s not my decision to make. That’s on the coaches and the GM and owner, and those kinds of things. So, if they feel like he can help our team, so be it, but I was a little surprised.”
Kevin Colbert said last week the Steelers didn't talk to Roethlisberger before selecting Rudolph with the first of their two third-round draft picks. It marked the second straight year the team has selected a quarterback in the draft after taking Josh Dobbs in the fourth round in 2017.
The selection of Dobbs came after Roethlisberger informed the team he was considering retirement at the conclusion of the 2016 season. But the 36-year-old has no such reservations moving forward.
The Steelers figure to only keep three quarterbacks in the regular season, meaning one of the quarterbacks currently on the roster won't be with the team in 2018. Roethlisberger isn't going anywhere and it's unlikely the team would go with an untested rookie behind Roethlisberger, so Landry Jones' job would seem safe. That could leave Dobbs as the odd man out.
“(Dobbs) and Landry, those two guys are who I feel the worst for,” Roethlisberger said. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t worried about him coming and taking my job. I feel confident that I can go out and beat whoever I need to beat out for my job, that’s just the kind of confidence I have in myself. Yeah, I do feel bad for those guys because you know, Landry, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I assume Landry’s still the two, I don’t really know, and Josh, same thing. Last year you take him in the fourth round, so does that mean the Steelers, like, screwed up in that pick? Like, do they think that he wasn’t the one that they thought, or has he not developed the way they thought? Why else would you take a quarterback in the third round the next year?”
Colbert said following the draft the team felt Rudolph was too good to pass up in the third round considering the team had him "up there with the other guys," selected in the first round. Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round of last week's draft, including a record four in the top 10 picks.
But it doesn't sound like Roethlisberger is going to be all too receptive to helping Rudolph get acclimated to the NFL. That will fall to Jones.
“I think the biggest thing is I need to get myself prepared to play, right? I mean that’s the first priority,” Roethlisberger said. “In the past, I’ve helped Landry with stuff, I’ve helped Josh if they have questions, but first priority is getting myself ready to play because as far as I know, I’m still the starter. So, I need to get myself ready to go, ready to play to win a championship.
“And I think that’s one of the great things about what Landry, I think, will do, and has done ... the backup quarterback’s role is one: to get the starter ready, but two: make sure he’s ready to go, too. But he’s kind of accepted a role of sort of helping the young guys way more than I kinda had to or need to. Maybe he’s done that to take off my plate a little bit because he understands the preparation that I need to have for myself. So, I think Landry will really kind of spearhead that and I mean, listen, if (Rudolph) asks me a question, I’ll help him, but I just need to make sure that I’m ready to go first and foremost.”