The relationship between former Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown is, well, let’s say complicated. From Roethlisberger’s perspective, he’s always been consistent in his comments about Brown, even after Brown sabotaged a Hall of Fame career for the sake of hubris.
Brown, on the other hand, has been all over the map. One minute he’s praising Big Ben and the next he’s putting him on blast. But this time, on The Pivot Podcast, Brown credits Roethlisberger for convincing then-offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to put Brown in the starting lineup.
“Ben Roethlisberger the only reason I even started starting for the Steelers,” Brown said. “Literally he had to go tell Bruce Arians like yo I need AB at the X. Let me have him run these plays.”
Arians was the Steelers offensive coordinator from 2007-2011 and brown didn’t join the Steelers until 2010 so it wasn’t like Arians had a long time to “hold him back” as Brown put it. In 2011, Brown appeared in all 16 games and caught 69 passes for 1,108 yards.
