Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has taken his fair share of lumps this offseason, with many fans, media members and former teammates criticizing his leadership ability.
The Steelers did clear the locker room of a guy who was a rather big problem in wide receiver Antonio Brown, and with running back Le'Veon Bell signing with the New York Jets, they won't have to deal with his perpetual contract dispute any longer.
But, there is still Roethlisberger, who, even with Brown and Bell both gone, needs to work on how he treats his teammates.
However, Steelers owner Art Rooney II does not feel that the 37-year-old, who just earned a contract extension, needs to do anything all that differently heading into 2019:
“I think Ben needs to be Ben,” Rooney said during an interview on Steelers Nation Radio. “I think he had a great year last year in terms of leading the league in passing yardage. I think every player on the roster hopefully comes into the season thinking what I can do to be better this year, and I think Ben looks at it that way as well. In terms of what he brings to the team, I think his track record speaks for itself. Obviously, I don’t think we’ve seen decline in his play. He’s a little different quarterback than he was 15 years ago, but he’s a top tier quarterback. With him on the field, you feel like you can compete with anybody in the league on any given Sunday.”
Roethlisberger did indeed lead the NFL with 5,129 yards in 2018, but he also paced the league with 16 interceptions and went without a Pro Bowl appearance for the first time since 2013 as the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since, not so coincidentally, 2013.
Rooney may not think Big Ben needs to change his ways at all, but there's surely a lot of people who feel pretty differently.
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