PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger said he never looked back after deciding to return to the Steelers for another season, his 14th in the NFL.
But a little positive reinforcement never hurts.
For Roethlisberger, it came last week during the first night of the NFL draft. The Cleveland Browns used the No. 1 overall pick to take Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, who promptly said he plans on making Roethlisberger his first NFL sack when the teams play Sept. 10 in Cleveland on the opening weekend of the season.
“I was talking to (Maurkice Pouncey) after Garrett called me out,” Roethlisberger said. “Pounce got a big kick out of it. All of my linemen enjoyed hearing it. They can’t wait to get started. I can’t, either.”
It was a relaxed Roethlisberger who jumped on the telephone this week for a 45-minute chat during which he addressed the Steelers draft, which included quarterback Joshua Dobbs, old teammate Martavis Bryant, new teammate James Conner, the 2017 Steelers and his football future, among other topics. He was hitting golf balls with his son, Benjamin Jr., 4, on a range not far from his offseason escape on Lake Oconee in Georgia. It turns out Junior might want to be a pro golfer rather than a Hall of Fame quarterback, which is just fine with his old man.
“He already hits the ball straighter than I do,” Roethlisberger said.
Family time has been the best part of Roethlisberger’s busy offseason. He also spoke for two hours about faith, family and, yes, maybe a little Antonio Brown to nearly 10,000 men at a retreat at Liberty College in Virginia.
“I had no idea what I was going to say. It came from the heart.” He hunted for Red Stag elk, Fallow deer and Arapawa ram during a trip to New Zealand with good friend, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. “I got all three!,” Roethlisberger gushed. And he was inducted into the Hancock County Sports Hall of Fame with his younger sister, Carlee, a basketball and volleyball star at Oklahoma. He ranks that as one of his greatest honors because there is nothing quite like feeling welcome in your hometown.
He had been largely estranged from Findlay since he was accused of sexual assault in March 2010 in Milledgeville, Ga. “Like I said the night of the dinner when I apologized, I let the negative comments of a few cloud my judgment about the many,” Roethlisberger said. “The voices of the few haters are so much louder than the voices of the many. I understand that now. I told my wife that night, ‘It’s amazing how good I feel being back here.’ “
Next up for Roethlisberger is a reconciliation with Bryant, the Steelers’ talented, but troubled wide receiver who was conditionally reinstated by the NFL last month after he missed the 2016 season because of a marijuana-related suspension. Roethlisberger had been Bryant’s biggest supporter and texted him daily when Bryant missed the first four games of 2015 because of another marijuana suspension. But Roethlisberger felt betrayed and even lied to by Bryant before the second suspension.
“It’s more than just me. He has to win back everybody’s trust,” Roethlisberger said. “I would hope he comes up to me and we go somewhere to talk in private. After that, he has to show with his work ethic and by staying clean that he cares — really cares — about us. If he does that, it’ll be huge. He can really help us. He can be so great.”
Roethlisberger said he liked the Steelers’ draft, especially the selection of Conner Friday night with the team’s second pick in the third round. He and Conner share the same agent, Ryan Tollner. They worked out together a few times during the winter in Newport Beach, Calif.
“I’m not saying I’m the reason we picked him, but I really pushed hard for him,” Roethlisberger said. “I think he’s going to be such a great fit for us.”
“Every player who’s from Pittsburgh or played in Pittsburgh wants to play for the Steelers. I get that. Bruce (Gradkowski) and Charlie (Batch) were that way. But James has a passion to play for us. ‘I only want to go to Pittsburgh,’ he told me before the draft. He’s going to work his butt off. You won’t even recognize him when you see him. He’s got his diet right. He’s lost weight. He’s leaner, stronger and faster. I’m really excited about the energy he’s going to bring to our team.”
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