Ben Roethlisberger Blames Steelers Organization For Big Failure Of 1 Player

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a bunch of mistakes with the offensive line after that dominant unit in the 2010s all retired. Once Omar Khan became the general manager, he went right to work making sure those problems don't come back to haunt them like they did in the early 2020s. Currently, it is not perfect, but it's still a lot better than it was before, and there is actually a high ceiling that these young players can reach. The future could be bright thanks to how that position has been emphasized. 

Arguably the biggest mistake that the Steelers made was when they drafted Kendrick Green in the third round of 2021 and converted him to center. In fact, his former quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, took a little shot at that pick recently on his podcast Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, and it went viral on social media. 

However, he opened up his latest episode with an apology to Green, and he placed the blame for his issues squarely on the organization itself. 

"That was by no way/shape/form/means a knock at Kendrick [Green]. I imagined it came across that way when I heard that he took it that way," Roethlisberger said. "It was not meant [like] that. It was more of a knock at the Steelers." 

Roethlisberger also said that he spoke with Green about the matter and that he apologized directly to him, as he didn't want it to be taken out of context like he believes it was. From what he said, it sounds like they came to an understanding about the whole situation, and everything is okay between them. He was more focused on what the Steelers did to that prospect. 

Roethlisberger continued on and spoke about all the different ways that the Steelers seemingly mishandled Green.

"What happened to Kendrick is unfair. I need to put that out there. What they did to him was unfair in the sense that they brought a guy that was a very good college offensive lineman and asked him to play a position in the NFL that is probably the second-hardest position after quarterback in the game. Not just that, but to come in and play with an 18-year veteran quarterback -- which is not easy because I know I'm not easy to deal with at times -- they put him in the same number as Hall-of-Honor and should-be Hall-of-Famer center Maurkice Pouncey."

Green primarily played guard in college, so expecting him to just walk in and fill Maurkice Pouncey's shoes at center was a questionable and controversial idea from top to bottom. It showed with how quickly the Steelers abandoned that project. Green was benched after his rookie year and traded right before his third NFL regular season for just a sixth-round pick. 

Pouncey and Roethlisberger had a level of chemistry between them that very few centers and quarterbacks ever had. In the passer's final season, he lost that chemistry and had it replaced with a guy that was not entirely sure how to play the position, so of course there would be issues there. It's hard to have things done in a particular way when Green is trying to figure out how to transition his skills from guard to this new role.

Steelers' Selection Of Green Epitomized General Manager's End To Career

The Steelers had quite a few rough NFL Drafts at the end of the Kevin Colbert era, and there are very few picks that have been as much of a letdown as the Green one. Right now, only seven of his draft picks are still playing in Pittsburgh, and two of them were let go before being brought back.