Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown regrets his issues with Ben Roethlisberger
The Pittsburgh Steelers have drafted a lot of successful wide receivers since the late 90s. One of the most impressive was Antonio Brown.
Brown was a dominant force over his nine seasons with the team. His connection with Ben Roethlisberger helped the Steelers become one of football’s best offenses.
Unfortunately, that connection ran into some problems near the end of Brown’s time in Pittsburgh.
Those issues included an argument between the two that led to Brown skipping practices and being held out of a game.
During a February 24 interview on VladTV, Brown revealed that he regrets the issues he had with Roethlisberger.
“I love Ben, I was probably so hurt at that time I just blocked his number. I made a life, changed my life as a player, coming into my own with Ben. First time I ever hit the starting lineup Big Ben told Bruce Arians ‘Yo I need AB at the X’, so I don’t think I ever had a problem with Ben, man,” Brown said. “Me and Ben made some of the greatest football history moments of my life, you know, my kids grew up seeing it. It sparked some of the greatness in my life. I feel like the media tried to create a war between us, but man I feel like me and Ben’s IQ is so much the same, sometimes I ran and created routes and he’d throw me the ball. We had that relationship, the media makes it what it is, but I got nothing but love and joy for Ben.”
A Dominant Run With the Steelers
Roethlisberger and Brown had a ton of success during their time together in Pittsburgh. They formed the “Killer B’s” with Le’Veon Bell and together they were one of the best offenses in football.
At that time, Brown established himself as the best receiver in football. In nine seasons with the Steelers, Brown led the league in receiving yards and receptions twice each.
He earned First Team All-Pro honors four times and seven Pro Bowl nods. He also finished in the top three of Offensive Player of the Year voting on three occasions.
Over the course of his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, Brown made 837 catches for 11207 yards and 74 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, his time in Pittsburgh didn’t have a happy ending as he ended up forcing his way off the team in 2019.
After Brown Left
Brown’s career took a strange path after he left the Steelers.
After Brown requested a trade during the 2019 offseason, the Steelers dealt him to the Raiders.
His time in Oakland was a mess. He missed most of training camp because of frostbite on his feet stemming from a cryotherapy session. Brown then had very public issues with the team’s GM that eventually led to him being released before he played a snap for the team.
Brown signed with the Patriots the same day he was released by the Raiders. His stay in New England was also short lived.
He appeared in just one game before off-field issues led to him once again being released.
Those issues kept him off the field for the rest of the season and led to him being suspended for the first eight games of the 2020 season.
During his suspension, Brown reunited with Tom Brady and former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay.
They went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
In 2021, Brown ran off the field during a Week 17 matchup against the Jets, marking the end of his time in the NFL.
John Vaccaro covers the NFL for Heavy.com, focusing on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, MMA and college sports as an editor and writer at BroBible and FanSided. More about John Vaccaro
