One of the biggest reasons for the dissension in the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room this past season was said to be the weekly radio show of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who frequently used the platform to publicly call out teammates.
Amid rampant criticism of Roethlisberger's lack of leadership abilities, the signal-caller has decided to give up the show with the hope of strengthening relationships with Steelers players, according to Matt Verderame of FanSided.
One might say that this is too little, too late, as Roethlisberger's questionable leadership style caused wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell to ultimately want to leave Pittsburgh.
Of course, Roethlisberger cannot be fully blamed for the situation with either player, as Brown had his own issues and Bell was at odds with the organization over his contract, but Big Ben's actions certainly played a role in their departures.
The Steelers are coming off of a 2018 campaign in which they went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013 in spite of a 7-2-1 start to the season.
Locker room issues caused the team to fall apart in the second half of the year, with the climax coming in the week leading up to the season finale when Brown got into a heated dispute with Roethlisberger and then went on AWOL on the club before consequently being benched by head coach Mike Tomlin for the Steelers' Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Roethlisberger threw for 5,129 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 96.5 on the year.
Follow Us
Subscribe