The Pittsburgh Steelers have become a piñata of sorts this offseason with another embarrassing playoff exit during the 2024 NFL campaign. But surprisingly, one of the loudest critics of the organization has become one of the best players in the franchise’s history — Ben Roethlisberger.
On Feb. 18, Roethlisberger was highly critical of the Steelers’ front office and painted a dim future for the franchise.
Ben Roethlisberger Says ‘Steelers Way’ Is Dying
Roethlisberger has previously addressed the “Steelers Way” on his podcast, saying that it is dying. The former quarterback made the same argument on Feb. 18.
“A team has to know when they’re playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that they’re gonna be hurting. Same way when I knew I was playing Baltimore that I was gonna be hurting. We need to play Baltimore every week, that needs to be our mentality as the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We’re gonna go just absolutely pound these people into the ground in a clean way. And you know what, we’re gonna be hurting, but you’re gonna be hurting worse. And I don’t know how that keeps on,” said Roethlisberger.
“I don’t know if that’s been lost from players now cause there’s so few guys left. Cam, T.J., even Minkah, he’s been there for awhile, and he’s a leader, but he didn’t get drafted here. He got brought here.”
The Steelers were on a tremendous drafting run when Roethlisberger came into the organization. They landed stars, or at least solid starters, in the first round of the NFL Draft and developed their players into their culture. That development helped lead to two Super Bowl victories in 2006 and 2009.
Roethlisberger didn’t mention anything about Pittsburgh’s recent drafts. But he seemed to imply the Steelers organization has lost its way with developing its draft picks into reliable starters that fit Pittsburgh’s old-school mentality.
To the quarterback’s point, the last first-round pick to develop into a Pro Bowler for the Steelers was T.J. Watt, who was the team’s first-rounder in 2017.
Roethlisberger’s Hypocritical Message
The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback had the reputation of being a drama king during his playing career. One could argue he’s been at least a little dramatic with some of his podcast messaging.
That includes his hot take that the “Steelers Way” is dying.
But the former quarterback appeared to contradict himself. While he seemed to take issue with the Steelers failing to be more draft-oriented, Roethlisberger also blasted the organization for failing to adapt.
“You have to evolve. You can’t assume everybody wants to play for the Steelers,” Roethlisberger said. “People used to want to play for Pittsburgh for a Super Bowl chance yearly.”
Ben Roethlisberger rips the Steelers for not changing: “You have to evolve. You can’t assume everybody wants to play for the Steelers. People used to want to play for Pittsburgh for a Super Bowl chance yearly.” #Steelers #NFL https://t.co/bMZx2ndfgj
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) February 19, 2025
The Steelers have been slow to evolve in some ways. However, they’ve been more active in free agency in recent years.
Last offseason, the Steelers signed linebacker Patrick Queen to the largest free agent contract in the franchise’s history.
After signing in Pittsburgh, Queen repeatedly shared his free agency wasn’t just about the money and that he wanted to play for the Steelers.
It’s also not as though the Steelers didn’t add key free agents for their 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl teams. Jerome Bettis, James Harrison, Willie Parker, James Farrior, and Ryan Clark were all key players on those championship rosters. The Steelers didn’t draft any of those five players.
It’s also worth noting that if the “Steelers Way” is dying, Roethlisberger might be at least partially responsible. The Steelers didn’t have a succession plan behind center for when Roethlisberger retired. Their first major attempt to replace him, Kenny Pickett, was off the team’s roster less than two years later.
Whether to another quarterback or his teammates, it was Roethlisberger’s responsibility to teach his younger teammates the “Steelers Way” so the organization’s tradition could continue.
The “Steelers Way” is really only a topic, though, because the Steelers are on a six-game postseason losing streak. Roethlisberger lost three of those contests while committing six turnovers.
By no means should the Steelers be free of criticism this offseason. It’s just doubtful that the “Steelers Way” is the only thing preventing the organization from experiencing more success in January.
