Athletes are ultra-competitive. It pumps through their veins and is part of what makes them good at what they do. So for any of them to play like stats, recognition doesn’t matter — they’re lying.
But Najee Harris, who wasn’t among the players voted by his teammates as a captain for the 2023 season, brushed it off.
“Kenny’s the quarterback. Kenny’s the guy,” Harris told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “I have no issue with that. I don’t think anybody has an issue with there being one captain. As long as we win, we’re not tripping. It’s all a team sport.”
There’s no arguing it’s a team sport, and props to Harris for being a great teammate, but it had to hurt his pride a little bit after being one of the two offensive captains in 2022.
Mike Tomlin highlighted each captain in his weekly press conference on Tuesday and why Kenny Pickett was the sole offensive representative.
Mike Tomlin said Kenny Pickett being named the lone captain on offense isn't reflective of the leadership of others.
— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) September 5, 2023
“[Kenny Pickett] being the lone captain on offense is obviously no disrespect to the leadership of others, but probably more reflection of everyone’s feel of his growth and development, not only as a player but as a leader within this collective, the team’s view of him and his growth and development,” Tomlin explained.
Not only is Pickett a captain in his first season as a starter, but it says even more about him that Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t voted captain until his fifth season.
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