Steelers' James Harrison Gets Honest About Ben Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had to watch as their former players (along with a couple of current ones) have had this little civil war over how good of a teammate and a person Ben Roethlisberger truly was. Obviously, he was an amazing player with a Hall of Fame resume, and Pittsburgh likely would not have made any of their three Super Bowl appearances in the 2000s without him, but there have been numerous stories about certain issues that have managed to leak out of the locker room.

During a recent episode of Deebo & Joe, former linebacker James Harrison put the Roethlisberger debate to rest once and for all as he explained exactly what the cause of the argument was and how good of a teammate he truly was.

"Me personally, I don't think Ben [Roethlisberger] is a bad teammate," Harrison said. "Over time, he has matured and grown up, and you don’t value the same things you did at 23 than you do at 30… It was never an issue that we had that we couldn't correct with each other, so the relationship with Ben is still intact for me -- and right now, we are far better, greater friends, brothers now than we ever were in the past, and that continues to grow."

Harrison also confirmed that Roethlisberger was less likable early on in his career, but he attributed that to the sheer amount of success he had getting to his head while achieving it at such a young age. As he got older, he learned more and more about how to be a better leader. He figured out that he needed to ditch his "7" persona and grow up. He was king of the world for a bit, but that title quickly died off. 

Harrison watched Roethlisberger grow up first-hand, even though he spent a year on a division rival before coming back from retirement. Up until he requested his release in 2017, he watched a little kid named 7 realize what his role as quarterback and captain meant, and he turned back into Ben Roethlisberger. He was still seen as a tough guy to deal with, but he wasn't the same persona that made Joey Porter Sr. go off on him.

Even after both players have retired, they still understand that they can't stop growing. Roethlisberger has spoken about that on his own podcast as well. He had Harrison on for one of his shows too, which exemplifies that bond that they have. As the linebacker said, they have continued to grow close as the years have gone on, and that shows how strong the brotherhood of those older Steelers teams truly are.

Steelers Need That Kind Of Brotherhood Back

One of the biggest issues that people have spoken about with the Steelers is a lack of leadership and accountability, and a lot of that comes from the lack of a true bond that the team has. Yes, Cameron Heyward is a great vocal leader while TJ Watt leads by example every single day. However, two players can't be responsible for getting an entire team on track and making sure everyone is very close. 

Many former Steelers players have spoken about how they understood when to play and when to work. Everyone kept each other in check and made sure no one was slacking off. That has not been the case on the recent teams, as there have been issues leaking out of practice and the locker room more than anyone would like to admit. That brotherhood left when a large chunk of that elite defense retired and moved on, and it has not been replicated very much since.