Big (baby) Ben?
Why is Steeler’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger petty and jealous when it comes to Mason Rudolph?
If there was any question about the possibility of Mason Rudolph one day becoming Ben Roethlisberger's replacement, it was answered by Big Ben himself.
Last week when the Steelers quarterback made his first public comments about Pittsburgh's draft picks, he was salty about Rudolph. He made it clear he was none too pleased the team had picked the former Oklahoma State star.
“I thought that maybe in the third round ... you can get some really good football players that can help this team win now," Roethlisberger said on a Pittsburgh radio station. "Nothing against Mason. Think he’s a great football player. I don’t know him personally, but I’m sure he’s a great kid.
"I just don’t know
how backing up or being a third ... helps us win now.”
Rudolph does help in the short term, and we'll get to that in a minute. But even if Roethlisberger’s real reason for saying such things was wanting the Steelers to have drafted skilled players who could play with him, he was quick to throw shade when asked about mentoring Rudolph.
“I don’t think I’ll need to, now that he said he doesn’t need me,” Roethlisberger said, referencing Rudolph’s comment that it wasn’t the starter’s job to teach him anything. “If he asks me a question, I might just have to point to the playbook.” He chuckled. Maybe it was a tonguein-cheek, made-in-jest thing, but there was still salt sprinkled in there.
Roethlisberger is jealous, plain and simple.
Rare is the two-time Super Bowl champ and sure-fire Hall of Famer who is so clearly insecure.
Roethlisberger is beloved in Pittsburgh,
both by fans and by teammates. Even though he's had off-the-field issues,nothing has ever overshadowedhis abilities or his successes as a player in the eyes of Steeler Nation.
No one in the Steel City should be more at peace about his place in the world— but Big Ben sounds ill at ease.
And that tells you he sees Rudolph as a threat.
An imminent one, he may not be.
Rudolph was a thirdround pick for a reason. He has flaws.
He has room to improve. But considering Rudolph's potential and Roethlisberger's history with injuries over the past couple seasons, the day might come sooner rather than later that Rudolph is the Steelers' starting quarterback instead of Roethlisberger.
Clearly, that has Big Ben rattled.
He's so out of sorts he doesn't even realize that drafting Rudolph does helpthe Steelers’ chances of winning now. That’s because this is the start of a familiar script in the NFL— team drafts its quarterback of the future only to see its quarterback of the now have a great season.
The most recent example was a year ago. Kansas City drafted former Texas Tech gunslinger Patrick Mahomes in the first round after starter Alex Smith had led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record and a division title.
How did Smith respond?
With undoubtedly the best season of his career.
Sure sounds like Roethlisberger has been similarly spurred by Rudolph, which should (ahem!) help the Steelers win now.
The way Big Ben talked during that radio interview last week, he clearly sees Rudolph as a challenger. Roethlisberger said drafting Rudolph was an affront— an affront!— to the commitment he's made to Pittsburgh. He's played his whole career there. He's recently turned 36. He's said he wants to play another three to five years.
"I think they believed me," Roethlisberger said of Pittsburgh management. "Once they drafted a quarterback in the third, I wasn't sure if they believed me or not."
I'm going to guess that the Steeler brass doesn't know what to believe. Even though he said after the season that he intends to keep playing, he flirted with retirement the past two seasons. He’s talked openly about how he considered walking away.
Seems like a pretty fluid situation.
Were the Steelers supposed to sit on their hands and just hope for the best?
Some people questioned whether the Steelers really drafted Rudolph to be their future quarterback. They bypassed a chance to draft him in the second round.
If he’s a guy you believe in, why wait until the third round? If he’s good enough to replace Big Ben, why make that gamble?
It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Rudolph.
But then Roethlisberger opened his mouth, and his saltiness told us the truth — Rudolph is in Pittsburgh to one day be the Steelers’ starting quarterback.