Stephen A. Smith Blasts Ben Roethlisberger for Steelers Problems

The ESPN host says former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is to blame for the team's culture.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are struggling to find offensive success, and with those troubles, have come issues with winning. And as fans start to boil over, and the culture within the locker room begins to be discussed, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is pointing the finger at a former player for some of the problems. 

During First Take, Smith went on a tirade discussing the Steelers' culture change, saying former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has something to do with why things are falling apart in Pittsburgh. 

"Your hands ain’t clean in all of this." Smith said. "Aren’t you somewhat responsible for the transitioning as it pertains to culture? Particularly when Mike Tomlin was there? And you’re there… you stayed too long. Last three years in the league, Ben Roethlisberger should have been gone. He was a statue.

"I’m just saying, if you’re Big Ben Roethlisberger, I thought you stayed a couple of years too long and I thought you sort of curtailed or stymied the transition so the era would continue offensively I’m talking about. I don’t think he did enough. I thought he stayed around too long and I didn’t think that he was a person that should have been around."

The Steelers offense did begin to decline during the final years of Roethlisberger's career, but the future Hall of Famer showed signs of greatness right up until the end. 

However, the biggest debate when talking about if Roethlisberger stuck around too long has been his contract. During two of his final three seasons, Big Ben was under a $68 million salary, averaging $34 million per year. His final year, he took a pay cut to reduce his salary to $14 million 

The Steelers selected Kenny Pickett in the first round the year after Roethlisberger announced his retirement. The draft was considered one of the worst in terms of quarterback talent. Jalen Hurts was drafted four picks after the Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft - the year before Roethlisberger retired.

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