Heyward hits back at Big Ben critics 'ready to discount him'
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward wants the disrespect of Ben Roethlisberger to stop.
After the Steelers' first practice of OTAs on Tuesday, Heyward defended his quarterback following an offseason of questions about his ability to perform at 39 years old.
"When I hear the badmouthing about him being a not great quarterback and everybody is ready to elevate other quarterbacks, I'm like, what have they done?" Heyward said, according to ESPN's Brookie Pryor. "This guy is a proven winner, but yet we're ready to discount him."
Coming off an elbow injury that sidelined him for most of 2019, Roethlisberger looked like his old self over the first half of the 2020 campaign. He racked up 2,267 yards and 22 touchdowns against four interceptions in the opening nine games of the year.
But the veteran signal-caller's play sharply fell off down the stretch. Roethlisberger threw 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the last seven games, with four of the turnovers coming during Pittsburgh's home playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Roethlisberger agreed to restructure his contract to return to Pittsburgh, ending speculation he could retire. The quarterback's new one-year deal reduced his cap hit from a league-leading $41.25 million to $25.91 million.
Heyward believes critics are being too harsh considering his quarterback's success, which includes two Super Bowl victories and six Pro Bowl appearances.
"I think we're just blowing it out of proportion," Heyward said. "The dude went 11-0 to start the season. How many other quarterbacks did that? I think we can sit up here and talk about we lost the game last year. We lost to the Cleveland Browns. Ok so be it. We fell off at the end, but we still made the playoffs.
"But I'm not here to say my quarterback's not able to do it. I've seen this guy win Super Bowls on TV. I've seen him day in and day out compete. You just get frustrated because I know Ben puts in work. I know how much he cares about this team."