Ben Roethlisberger is arguably the greatest quarterback in Pittsburgh Steelers history. Roethlisberger holds basically every major passing record for the Steelers. With his two Super Bowl victories, he shouldn’t have to wait long to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, his career wasn’t perfect. Roethlisberger recently talked about how, if there were one thing he could change about his career, he’d choose to be a better teammate.
“I got criticized sometimes for not being the best teammate because I didn’t take the time to be friends with everybody,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “Obviously, in 18 years, you come across a lot of guys, that’s a lot of friends.
“I always said, ‘If you’re looking for a friend, go to the boys and girls club. I’m here to win. I’m here to win games, I’m here to win championships. If we can be friends along the way, that’s great.’ But becoming a friend should not trump my willingness to try and win. That would be another one. Maybe if I could go back and just be a better teammate all the time to guys.”
That’s admirable self-awareness from Roethlisberger. Many of his former teammates do speak highly of him. However, that isn’t the case for everyone. Sometimes, that’s just the nature of the NFL. Not everyone is going to like you. However, Roethlisberger had a few moments where he might have fractured his relationship with teammates.
Maybe the most memorable example came in 2018 following the Steelers’ loss to the Denver Broncos. Roethlisberger threw an interception in the end zone to end that game. During a radio appearance, he placed some of the blame for that on Antonio Brown. That comment seemed to damage his relationship with Brown.
Since then, Roethlisberger has apologized for those comments. Explaining his mentality toward friendship and teammates, it’s easy to see why he might have left a bad impression on some people. He’s not the first athlete to prioritize championships over friends, though.
That’s probably part of the reason why he was so successful. During that same podcast, he explained that he wouldn’t change that part of himself.
“If there was ever someone I wronged or wasn’t kind to, looking back now, I wish I could fix that wrong or say I’m sorry, but I still would stand by what I said as, ‘I’m here to win.’ Maybe I still could’ve done that, but found time to have been there more for guys that needed me.”
That’s fair. Roethlisberger’s goal should’ve been to win. Winning helped everyone within the organization. However, as the team’s franchise quarterback, he should’ve been one of their leaders. Maybe he could’ve altered his leadership style to better include everyone.
Some of Roethlisberger’s regrets might also come from the way he handled young quarterbacks near the end of his career. Mason Rudolph is a good example. Rudolph has gone on the record to say that he and Roethlisberger didn’t have a tight relationship. While he also made it clear that there wasn’t any bad blood between them, it seemed like they weren’t friends.
It wasn’t Roethlisberger’s job to be friends with everyone, but perhaps he could’ve been more available and open to everyone. It’s not like Roethlisberger was an awful teammate, though. There are many accounts of former teammates praising Roethlisberger. However, no one’s perfect. Roethlisberger still put together a phenomenal career, so he shouldn’t let that regret hang over his head too much.
