Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been taking heaps and heaps of criticism for his lack of leadership skills this offseason, with the trade of Antonio Brown bringing the discussion to the forefront.

However, former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has come to Roethlisberger's defense, saying that the signal-caller is a fine leader:

“One of the best I've ever been around,” said Arians, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. “Guys have to have thicker skin. He's the leader. He's the guy. … It's his team. That's the way it should be.”

The “guys have to have thicker skin” comment seems to be a shot at Brown and Le'Veon Bell, both of whom have knocked Roethlisberger upon leaving Pittsburgh.

We already know the drama surrounding Brown and Roethlisberger, as their shaky relationship was not a secret, but after Bell departed the Steelers for the New York Jets, he cited Roethlisberger as a factor in why he chose to leave.

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The main issue many have taken with Roethlisberger is his penchant for publicly calling out teammates on his weekly radio show, which players inside the Steelers' locker room did not receive too well.

Things then reached a boiling point in the week leading up to the season finale when Brown got into a heated dispute with Roethlisberger that apparently ended in him throwing a football at the quarterback.

Brown then went AWOL on the team before being consequently benched by head coach Mike Tomlin for Pittsburgh's Week 17 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers then traded the wideout to the Oakland Raiders.