Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has worked with Bruce Arians before, and both he and Tom Brady have been among the definitive players at the quarterback position in the last two decades in the NFL.

Naturally, Roethlisberger said he was excited to see what Brady and Arians will do together in Tampa Bay. Roethlisberger also said he sent a message to Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who seems to understand he does not need to do much in terms of coaching Brady (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk):

“I was excited for him because I knew who he was going to play for in Bruce Arians,” Roethlisberger told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “And he’s going to enjoy the heck out of that because he was fun to play for.”

Roethlisberger played for Arians for five years in Pittsburgh, and some believe that Arians’ involuntary retirement of the team’s offensive coordinator was fueled by a belief that Arians and Ben had grown too close.

Leftwich works as Arians’ offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, and Roethlisberger shared a tidbit regarding his former backup quarterbacks.

“I texted Byron and said, like, ‘Hey, don’t screw it up,'” Roethlisberger said. “And he said, ‘All I got to do is get out of the way.’ It’s going to be good for him. I’m excited for all of them.”

Of course, Brady's decision to head to South Florida also means he no longer plays in the AFC, giving teams like the Steelers reason to be that much more optimistic entering the 2020 campaign.

For his part, Roethlisberger has plenty to look forward to next season after missing all but two games in 2019. The Steelers should have an elite defense, and Big Ben's return figures to give the offensive unit new life as Pittsburgh hopes to return to contention.