Steelers Fan Insider Ed Bouchette of “The Athletic” tells The Cook and Joe Show he doesn’t believe a single word from former San Francisco coach Mike Singletary when says Ben Roethlisberger would’ve been traded to the 49ers if he hadn’t vetoed it.
In a story by The Athletic’s Dan Pompei, Singletary claims the 49ers and Steelers had a deal in place for the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback in 2009, which was in the aftermath of when Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault after an alleged incident in Lake Tahoe.
Singletary was called into a meeting with 49ers owner John York, CEO Jed York, director of player personnel Trent Baalke and other executives and was informed of the trade, which Singletary vetoed, claiming he wanted to give Alex Smith a chance and that he wanted a team of “character.”
“I believe Dan Pompei is a great reporter, I don’t believe a word Singletary’s saying,” said Bouchette.
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Bouchette adds he talked to then Steelers owner Dan Rooney the next year after assault accusations out of Georgia and trade rumors were swirling.
“I remember talking to Dan Rooney, he said ‘no we’re not going to trade him, we’re going to try and have him work through this and get some help’ . . . I don’t believe that for a minute that they were going to trade him to San Francisco,” said Bouchette.
Bouchette adds that Rooney was “bothered” by the allegations and Roethlisberger was forced to take trainings, missing a lot of the spring practices.
Both cases were dropped by authorities due to lack of evidence.