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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, along with wide receiver Antonio Brown, did not attend OTAs on Wednesday. Since showing up for the very first session, Big Ben has not made another appearance, which was noteworthy.
But according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there is “no driving reason” for Big Ben not being there. His source also noted that Roethlisberger is not taking a different approach to OTAs than what he’s usually done in previous years. He prefers to work out on his own but remains in constant contact with the coaching staff, which means he can be away from the team during this time.
The fact that Roethlisberger does not appear to be absent due to any ill feelings toward the team should certainly be promising to hear for Steelers fans. Big Ben and the team had their squabbles earlier this offseason when Roethlisberger publicly criticized the team’s decision to draft quarterback Mason Rudolph in the third round.
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However, that whole situation was likely strong evidence that Roethlisberger’s absence isn’t due his displeasure with the team. If it were, he probably would’ve made a much more public spectacle of it like he did with Rudolph.
While OTAs are still “voluntary,” Roethlisberger will still have some explaining to do to his teammates as to why he’s elected to sit out as opposed to getting to work with them. But it doesn’t appear that this whole issue is too big a deal.
It’ll obviously be a different matter if he misses mandatory minicamp in a couple of weeks. But unless that happens, the Steelers shouldn’t have much to worry about with their veteran quarterback.
