Ben Roethlisberger takes shot at Mason Rudolph and creates own Steelers narrative

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's media career is off to a flying start the past two seasons. On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Ben hasn't been afraid to comment on past teammates or current players on the Steelers, such as Kenny Pickett or head coach Mike Tomlin.

Roethlisberger's latest statement made waves, as he refuted previous reports that he was unkind to Mason Rudolph when Pittsburgh drafted him out of Oklahoma State.

“When Mason played for me, I was trying to help Mason as much as I could,” Roethlisberger shared on his“Footbhalin'” podcast on Dec. 31. “Then he just he never… he didn’t want my help anymore, so I backed off.”

Ben Roethlisberger creates own narrative with Mason Rudolph, Steelers

Rudolph admitted that he and Roethlisberger "weren't close" just a few days ago. In a piece by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko back in 2022, Rudolph took a thinly-veiled shot at Roethlisberger. This is all per Batko:

“Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph knew where the question was going. As a veteran now, does he find himself trying to take on the responsibility of helping first-round pick Kenny Pickett, as opposed to being …“Being like someone else?” Rudolph said.”

At the time Rudolph was drafted in 2018, Roethlisberger said he had no qualms with the player himself, but was confused how a backup quarterback would help the team win back then. Roethlisberger only had a few years left, and the Steelers took a flyer on a possible replacement. That's the easy answer, but one Roethlisberger wasn't comfortable with.

“I felt that we could have drafted a position — offense or defense — that could have helped us. Not a guy that was going to be a potential backup, sure maybe have the the job in the future. That’s where I was more frustrated. It had nothing to do with Mason personally," Roethlisberger clarified this week.

Rudolph did his best to learn from afar, and surely watching a Hall-of-Fame quarterback every week did him some good. But let's not get this twisted -- Roethlisberger did not take Rudolph under his wing for a reason.