Antonio Brown may not be a fan of Ben Roethlisberger's leadership, but that does not mean the rest of Roethlisberger's teammates feel the same way.
Second-year wide receiver James Washington, whom Roethlisberger criticized on his radio show at one point this past season, said he takes no issues with Roethlisberger's leadership style.
“He’s a captain,” Washington said, according to Chris Adamski of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That’s what a captain is supposed to do.”
Washington added that “everyone respects” Roethlisberger and that the quarterback has “worked hard enough to earn that.”
The 23-year-old also said that Roethlisberger had some encouraging words for him in private, which made him feel “at ease.”
Article Continues Below“It’s hard coaching, but I have been hard coached my entire life, so it really wasn’t nothing new to me,” Washington said. “It helped me get back on track a little bit and back to where I needed to be.”
Washington, who played his collegiate football at Oklahoma State, was originally selected b the Steelers in the second round (60th pick overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.
He played in 14 games during his rookie campaign, catching 16 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown.
As for Roethlisberger, the 37-year-old has fallen under harsh criticism for his questionable leadership ability, with Brown and former teammates calling him out for not handling the locker room the right way.
Due to Roethlisberger's tenuous relationship with Brown, Brown requested a trade after the 2018 campaign, and Pittsburgh ended up dealing him to the Oakland Raiders for a couple of draft picks.