Retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a lot to say in a recent, wide-ranging interview. But not all of his former Pittsburgh Steelers teammates seemed to agree with Big Ben’s take on modern NFL players.
One of Roethlisberger’s quotes from that story that seemed to resonate was when he told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the players were less focused on me when Roethlisberger first entered the league in 2004 than when he left the game in early 2022.
“I feel like the game has changed,” Roethlisberger said. “I feel like people have changed in some ways. Maybe it’s because I got hurt when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this and that and the other”.
But current Steelers captain Cameron Heyward, who played with Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh from 2011 to 2021, appeared to take exception, saying his former teammate’s comments “really rub me the wrong way” and ” they bugged him a little bit” when talking about his “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” Podcast.
“We seem to be seen as selfish players, and I don’t think that’s the point,” Heyward said. “We have a lot of young players who come from different backgrounds, they’ve experienced different things than others or I have experienced.
“That doesn’t make them selfish or (having) a more me-like attitude. … There’s a lot more team-first guys than me-type attitude. I was offended by that.”
Heyward broached the subject with NFL Network’s Judy Battista during Inside Training Camp Live on Wednesday.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” he said. “… Ben will always be one of my favorite quarterbacks because he’s one of the only quarterbacks I’ve ever had, but I think we have to remember that we’re a team first, we’re going out here every day. trying to get better as a group.”
“I think I might have misspoken, but at the end of the day, we all have to focus on trying to get better. It’s different now. When he came into the league, there was no social media. Now the guys have . a lot of different media, but that shouldn’t be misrepresented. I think it’s something we have to deal with and grow with, as the media and everybody does. It’s a different world and we just have to be prepared for accept it.”
Certainly, the drama created by former Steelers Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell while the team was considered possible Super Bowl contenders immediately comes to mind in light of what Roethlisberger said. But he didn’t name any of those players, leaving his comments pretty open-ended, suggesting they were more of a blight in his eyes than just two former teammates who might have been selfish.
Roethlisberger continued, “I might be standing on a soap box a little bit, but that’s the biggest takeaway from me from when I started to the end. It went from a team-first attitude to a me. It was hard. It’s hard for these. young guys too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now this new NIL stuff, which is amazing. They’re treated so special. They’re pampered at an early age because college coaches need them to win I also know coach [Terry] Hoeppner never spoiled me. neither [Bill] Cowher.”
Heyward went on to say on the podcast that he felt it was his role to protect his Steelers teammates from that kind of criticism.
“I’m responsible for these guys,” Heyward said. “Obviously it’s been a long time since we’ve had a Super Bowl, and maybe that’s where Ben says, ‘Man, if these guys had grown up…
“But it’s up to the big guys to step up and hold the guys accountable. … It’s up to a vet to take you under your wing and pull you up and say, ‘Hey, this is what it’s like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.’ ‘ And that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Heyward also made sure it wasn’t an attack on Roethlisberger, but a way to give context to what Ben said.
“Don’t say Cam is yelling at Ben, he’s not,” Heyward said. “But I will say that I will protect my team. I will make sure that everyone knows that we only care about football on the pitch and less off the pitch.
“We can all understand that Ben has been a great QB. You don’t play this game and become a Hall of Fame quarterback and you do it at a low level. Ben took some hits that a lot of other teams could. He saved us , he won games we shouldn’t have won, and he’s always stepped up, but it was the team around him that helped him do that, and I don’t want anyone to ever forget that the whole team won… – not just Ben.”
Roethlisberger retired in January, shortly after the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Chiefs. In his 18-year career with the Steelers, Roethlisberger led the team to two Super Bowl victories, was named to six Pro Bowls and finished his career as the fifth all-time passing leader with 64,088 yards.