Cameron Heyward says Ben Roethlisberger’s comment on current NFL players ‘shrugs me the wrong way’
Pittsburgh Steelers captain Cameron Heyward exception for By Ben Roethlisberger asserted recently that too many current NFL players have a “me-like attitude,” saying his former teammate’s comments “rub me in the wrong way.”
Roethlisberger, in a wide-ranging interview published Friday by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettesaid “the game has changed” and “people have changed” when addressing the differences he noticed between his early years and later years with the Steelers.
“The team is important,” Roethlisberger said of his early seasons with Pittsburgh. “It’s all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and that.
“I can stand on top of a soapbox for a bit, but that’s the biggest takeaway from start to finish. It’s gone from a teamwork attitude to a me. It’s hard. . It’s hard for these young men, too. Social media. They were treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL, it’s unbelievable. special. They are spoiled from a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I know coaches. [Terry] Hoeppner never taught me. Neither [Bill] Cow herd. “
Heyward was a teammate of Roethlisberger from 2011 until last season, when the future Hall of Fame defender retired. In his most recent podcast edition, Heyward said he disagreed with Roethlisberger’s observation, saying it made him “a bit sad”.
“We seem to be seen as selfish players, and I don’t think that’s the point,” the veteran midfielder said on the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast. “We have a lot of young players from different backgrounds who have been through things that are different from what other people or I may have gone through. It doesn’t make them selfish or have an attitude. like me… There are a lot more people who work as a team than I do. I did that very annoyingly.”
Heyward, 33, cited several current and former Steelers – including Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyson Alualu and Brett Keisel, who have had a positive impact on the dressing room and organization, consider them “first in the team” despite criticism for their personalities.
A team captain since 2015, Heyward also said “it’s up to the management, myself included” to help young players adapt to the NFL and the culture of the Steelers, who won’t. two Super Bowls with Roethlisberger.
“I have to take responsibility for those guys,” Heyward said. “Obviously we haven’t had a Super Bowl in a long time, and maybe that’s where Ben says, ‘Good heavens, if those guys had grown up.” But it’s up to the elders to step up and lay the blame on others. … The vet will put you under your wing and pull you across and say, ‘Hey, this is what it’s like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do.
“Maybe Ben doesn’t see it that way, but man, I’ll protect my boys. You can’t say that’s ‘my type of attitude’ now. Everyone becomes a Super Bowl winner. , let’s make money, be an MVP one day. But when it all comes together, we care about one thing, this icon right here. … I always try to expand on that. for his younger teammates. I think Ben’s a bit over the top.”
Roethlisberger, 40, played his entire 18-year career as a starting midfielder for the Steelers before retiring this past January. He’s a six-time professional football player, finishing his career with the fifth most passing yards (64,088) in NFL history and leading the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship following the 2005 seasons. and 2008.
Heyward insisted he was not “throwing shade” at Roethlisberger, saying he was “explaining my side.”
“Don’t say Cam is calling Ben – it’s not like that,” Heyward said. “But I will say, I will defend my team. I will make sure everyone knows that we are only interested in football on the pitch and less interested in off the pitch. We all have it. Understandably Ben is already a QB.You don’t make this game and become a Hall of Fame quarterback and do it at a low level.
“Ben made some hits that not many other teams can. He saved us, he won games we didn’t think were won and he always came forward. But it was the team that was around. he helped him do it, and I don’t want anyone to forget that the whole team won – not just Ben.”
