Retirement-teasing Big Ben can't complain about Rudolph selection

Ben Roethlisberger is the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise player, the face of the team, and a key veteran who is supposed to lead an uber-talented roster to a Super Bowl win.

He's also 36 years old, has an exhaustive injury history, and has continually teased retirement recently.

Despite all this, the quarterback opted to welcome rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph into the locker room by criticizing Pittsburgh's decision to use a third-round pick to potentially secure the future of the position.

"I was surprised when they took a quarterback because I thought that maybe in the third round, you know you can get some really good football players that can help this team now," Roethlisberger said Friday on "Cook and Poni" of KDKA Pittsburgh. "Nothing against Mason; I think he's a great football player. I don't know him personally, but I'm sure he's a great kid. I just don't know how backing up or being a third (string) - well, who knows where he's going to fall on the depth chart - helps us win now.

"But, you know, that's not my decision to make. That's on the coaches and the GM and the owner and those kind of things. If they think he can help our team, so be it, but I was a little surprised."

Clearly Roethlisberger wants to eat his cake and have it too, all while having praise heaped upon him for both his restraint and cake-eating abilities.

The two-time Super Bowl winner spent most of the previous offseason hinting that he was ready to walk away from football, seemingly enjoying all the coverage that came with his statements.

Roethlisberger refused to confirm he would return for the upcoming campaign in January 2017 and kept the franchise and its fanbase in a state of perpetual panic for three months, until confirming he would return.

Related: Roethlisberger seriously considered retiring, says ex-teammate Colon
Related: Roethlisberger '110 percent committed' to Steelers after flirting with retirement

He later said he would take his playing future year by year, citing the health concerns that come with playing football into your late 30s, while adding retirement remained an option after the 2017 season.

Roethlisberger made more headlines after his five-interception game against the Jacksonville Jaguars by saying "Maybe I don't have it anymore."

After all that, can you blame the Steelers for drafting a player they believed to be on par with the top quarterback prospects?

Especially after the veteran continued to send mixed signals this offseason. A January report claimed he told teammates he wanted to play at least three more years, and days after Rudolph was selected, Roethlisberger announced a similar target following a meeting with Steelers brass.

Rudolph, to his credit, showed veteran poise when asked about Roethlisberger's comments.

"If I was Ben, I'd probably say the same thing," the former Oklahoma State standout said, according to Simon A. Chester of Steelers Wire. "He's a competitor. Obviously, he has a lot of confidence in himself, like I do. He's going to be a future Hall of Famer and I would expect him to say that. I'm just looking forward to going in there and learning the system, competing and raising my level of play. Preparing like I'm the starter even though I obviously won't be the starter. Just waiting, waiting and being prepared for whenever I get my time. When my time comes, to be ready and take advantage of it."

It's a situation Rudolph has been prepared for since his selection, noting after the draft that "it's not Ben's job to teach me anything, it's my job to learn and that's the way I am going to look at it."

And the rookie is right. Roethlisberger's job is to win games, not mentor his potential replacement. But, he is supposed to lead by example and help cultivate a strong locker room, not publicly complain about the self-inflicted consequences that come from his continuous flirtation with retirement.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The six-time Pro Bowler should want the Steelers to win, whether he's on the field or not - and he's not on the field often enough. In 14 NFL seasons, Roethlisberger has played in all 16 regular-season games just three times. The list of his injuries is painful to even read; the veteran pivot is held together by grit and little else at this point.

If Roethlisberger needed a reminder of the value of a good backup, the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Foles gave him one with their magical run to Super Bowl LII victory despite losing MVP candidate Carson Wentz.

Current backup Landry Jones has performed OK when starting in place of an injured Roethlisberger, winning three of five, but his record becomes less convincing when you notice all three wins were against the lowly Cleveland Browns. Expecting the mediocre Jones to be a difference-maker is naive at this point, while 2017 fourth-rounder Joshua Dobbs is set to fight for his roster spot after the Rudolph pick.

Landry and Dobbs can't keep Pittsburgh afloat against the AFC's elite and the Steelers shouldn't have to risk a lost season due to a Roethlisberger injury just because he can't handle the prospect of his own football mortality.

Rudolph is far from a surefire future starter, of course. He fell to the third round for a reason. The 22-year-old has a below-average arm and comes from the program that inflated Brandon Weeden's numbers and made him look like a budding star.

Roethlisberger has a point when asking how the Rudolph pick helps Pittsburgh win now. Linebacker Malik Jefferson could have filled some of the void left by the injured Ryan Shazier; defensive end Sam Hubbard would have added even more bite to the already dominant pass-rush; and tight end Mark Andrews is the type of playmaking-tight end Roethlisberger has needed since Health Miller retired, and all were taken in the 10 selections following Rudolph.

But Pittsburgh's hand was forced by Roethlisberger. Maybe the Steelers would have been more inclined to focus on the present if they had more trust that their starter was committed and had plenty left in the tank, but they smartly opted to hedge their bet.

Roethlisberger trying to save his own reputation at the cost of others is nothing new. It's fitting that after a draft process during which Josh Rosen was attacked on a daily basis for perceived character defects of being selfish and not a team player, Roethlisberger showed that the NFL has been accepting and enabling these kinds of quarterback personalities for years.

"I think they believed me," Roethlisberger said. "Once they drafted a quarterback in the third I wasn't sure if they believed me or not."

And whose fault is that, Ben?