To say the least, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been very critical of the Steelers organization lately. He was rather blunt when speaking about the offense on the recent episode of his Footbahlin podcast. He thinks the unit has a long way to go until becoming an elite group.
"You have one receiver. You've got a really good tight end. You've got a couple of running backs that are by committee. You've got a bunch of young linemen," Roethlisberger said. "The Steelers offense is not built for anything right now. Just being honest."
Roethlisberger thinks there has to be more invested into the offense. The defense has been the highest-paid unit in recent years, and the results have not been all that great.
During the five-game losing streak to end the 2024 season, the Steelers allowed 27.4 points per game and 157.4 rushing yards per game. That's why Roethlisberger thinks it's time to pay some players on the offensive side of the ball.
"I know we have the highest-paid D-lineman, the highest-paid linebacker, the highest-paid safety in the league," Roethlisberger said. "And I'm not saying those guys aren't deserving, but that ends up taking a toll on your team when you can't pay other guys that much money."
Pittsburgh Steelers legends Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Keisel drop the puck on the 2024-25 season of Robert Morris college hockey. — Brian Mitchell / Pittsburgh Hockey Digest
Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter also thinks the Steelers need more weapons on offense. He believes their quarterback dilemma will not be fixed until the wide receiver position is bolstered. The Steelers WR corps was arguably the worst in the NFL last season.
"A lot of the conversation has been about Mike Tomlin, lot of conversations have been about the quarterbacks, and all those conversations should be had. But you cannot change the quarterback unless you change the wide receiver room," " Carter said on Up and Adams with Kay Adams.
"They have a major problem with their wide receivers. I don't care who they get there now. They don't have a great wide receiver room."
Carter also thinks the Steelers need to acquire a veteran receiver to help mentor George Pickens .
"You need to get another veteran receiver with (Pickens) like DeAndre Hopkins , Amari Cooper . Guys who have really established themselves not only as consistent wide receivers, but they have been great role models. He is a tremendous talent, but he has lapses where he does not make an impact on the game in a positive way. His overall body language — Warren Moon taught me this, 'Hey man, if you give me that bad body language, I'll bury in this offense. You'll never get the ball.'
"Unless you get a veteran quarterback or someone they respect, you can keep those antics. A lot of receivers have done it through the years. It does not help the quarterback, it does not help the team, it does not help the coaching staff. So the longer they allow those type of things to go on, especially when you have average quarterback play, that the receivers could complain about. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a couple of problems at a couple of different positions, and it's not because of a lack of talent. It's because of a lack of overall discipline and lack of overall commitment to the program of what they're trying to do."
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