Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger is back in the media limelight with more criticism of his former franchise.
Since leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of the 2021 season, Ben Roethlisberger has been a lightning rod for criticism, both given and received. He has always been a naturally controversial figure off the field, but his recent spate of vengeful comments about the Steelers organization only furthers the stain on his legacy.
Roethlisberger was most heavily criticized for comments made about his successor at QB in Pittsburgh, Kenny Pickett. It's no secret that Big Ben took Pickett's arrival as a slight toward the tail end of his career and the Steelers legend eventually apologized for his "selfish" behavior.
In addition to the Pickett snafu, Roethlisberger made Pittsburgh's internal deliberations external, going on a long rant about those within the organization who may or may not have conspired against him in his final NFL seasons. All in all, Roethlisberger hasn't been a beacon of positivity in the media since his retirement and his recent spell of silence has been a much-welcomed reprieve.
Alas, he's back and better than ever. Better than ever at criticizing the organization and former teammates, that is.
Ben Roethlisberger is back to criticize Pittsburgh Steelers and former teammate Kendrick Green
Ben Roethlisberger recently appeared on the Footbahlin Podcast to make old wounds fresh with former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. The two-time Super Bowl champ specifically targeted Pittsburgh's use of a third-round pick on Kendrick Green, who has spent training camp at a new position: fullback.
"They drafted that guy to be my center," said Roethlisberger (h/t SteelersNow). "Last year, he didn't even dress. And now they have him playing a little bit of fullback… Kevin Colbert and them drafted him to be my center my final year."
On the surface, it's fair criticism. Green started 15 games as a rookie and was, in fact, Roethlisberger's center in his final season. Clearly the vet took exception to Kevin Colbert's decision to saddle him with a rookie center in Year 18. Roethlisberger isn't the first legendary QB to get cranky in the waning years of his career and he won't be the last.
That said, it's still a bad look. The Steelers did a lot for Big Ben over the years and even if he didn't mean this as direct criticism of Green — "this is not a knock on him, I love Kendrick Green" — we can all read between the lines. Roethlisberger is very openly calling out Green's lack of ability at center, which sparked his move to fullback (and, retroactively makes the decision to draft him and start him in front of 40-year-old Ben Roethlisberger look suspect). It's very easy not to make comments that throw former teammates under the bus, but Big Ben continues to struggle greatly with the concept.
The hope in Pittsburgh is that Green can find success at fullback and revive his career. Not every path to NFL stardom is the same and sometimes an outside-the-box approach is all it takes to launch a player's career to the next level.
Roethlisberger, meanwhile, can continue to grumpily occupy his couch and watch his former team chart a new path forward.
