Ben Roethlisberger on Steelers' 2018 Season: 'I Lacked in Leadership'
Ben Roethlisberger spoke with reporters following organized team activities Tuesday and revealed how he felt he performed as a captain and quarterback last season.
"I lacked in leadership," Roethlisberger said according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "Because that's my job as the leader of this team, to get us to the playoffs. I'm gonna need to focus and refocus my energy and time on, how can I be a better leader to get us back to the playoffs?"
The team went 9-6-1 last season and missed the postseason for the first time since 2013.
Pittsburgh's quarterback also recently came out and apologized to former teammate Antonio Brown, who, along with other former Steelers, criticized Roethlisberger heavily before eventually getting traded to the Raiders in March.
When talking about his relationship with Brown Tuesday, Roethlisberger explained that the last time he spoke with Brown, they "had a great talk. Everything was good." He added though that after they hugged on the Thursday before the season finale, which Brown missed, they didn't speak again. Roethlisberger said he never heard back from Brown after he reached out.
Going into his 16th season, Roethlisberger was given a two-year extension that has him playing through 2021 and he said he plans to honor it. Last year was the first time since 2013 that he didn't make the Pro Bowl despite leading the league with 5,129 passing yards and a career-high 34 touchdowns, which ranked fifth in the NFL.
