Steelers reveals huge regret on missing out on ‘living, breathing, walking legend’
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the league’s most consistent winning franchises over the previous thirty years. Since 1991, the Steelers have had only four seasons with a regular season record below.500. One reason for this success is a strong front office that makes sound decisions during free agency and the NFL Draft. Former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert made a lot of good judgments for Pittsburgh over the course of 20 years, but we recently learned about his biggest regret: missing out on a legendary NFL player.
Colbert appeared on a recent episode of Cameron Heyward’s podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. Heyward and Colbert talked during the Steelers draft part on day three of the 2024 NFL Draft. They discussed several topics, including Colbert’s biggest regret as Steelers GM.
“There’s always guys you’re going to look at and say, ‘Wow, in the whole universe, we missed on Tom Brady,’” Colbert said, “that’s a living, breathing, walking legend.”
The oldest ploy in the book is regretting not choosing Tom Brady. It ranks right up there with saying you were high on Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, Colbert came closer to selecting Brady than most others in 2000. Pittsburgh drafted quarterback Tee Martin 163rd overall, just 36 positions ahead of Brady.
“Going into the sixth round is unique; it doesn’t happen too often. We ended up chasing him. We had our own triumphs, but Tom Brady clearly had a lot more. The Patriots did an excellent job piecing together successful seasons, which is the challenge of the enterprise. If you ask me for one, I’ll always choose it because it was my first year here.”
Pittsburgh selected Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. It was the highest draft pick the Steelers used on a quarterback since 1970 when they picked future Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw first overall.
Roethlisberger made a strong impression on Pittsburgh during his rookie campaign. He went 13-0 during the regular season and led the Steelers to a near-perfect 15-1 record. He also delivered a Divisional Round playoff victory over the Jets and played well in a tough AFC Championship loss against — of course — Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Despite that loss, the future was bright in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger won Offensive Rookie of the Year and set their sights on the Super Bowl.
Over the next six seasons, the Steelers made three Super Bowl appearances and won two Lombardi Trophies.
