Ben Roethlisberger: Tom Brady 'Didn't Look Like He Wanted' to Be There vs. Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady's frustration during Sunday's 20-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers caught the attention of another iconic quarterback.

On an episode of his Footbahlin podcast (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), Ben Roethlisberger said Brady "didn’t look like he wanted to be out there."

Much has been made of the Bucs' struggles this season and how much involvement Brady has with the team. He had an 11-day excused absence during the preseason.

"I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s--t going on, so you just have to try and figure out life the best you can. You know, it's a continuous process," Brady told reporters about his absence following Tampa's final preseason game on Aug. 27.

Brady skipped the Bucs' final walkthrough before the Steelers game to attend New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's surprise wedding on Friday.

Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters after Sunday's game Brady "had a full week of practice" and "didn’t miss anything." He was also asked if the seven-time Super Bowl champion's absence had any impact on the offense going 1-of-4 in the red zone.

"Absolutely not," Bowles said.

Former NFL offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth said Monday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that Brady's absence on Friday "bothered me" because Brady "has always been known as, is the guy that's like 'you will never outwork me, you will never outprepare me, I will outwork anybody in this business.'"

Brady was also seen yelling at Tampa's offensive line on the sidelines during the game.

Everyone with the Buccaneers should be frustrated at this point. They have lost three of their last four games after a 2-0 start to the season. The offense ranks 16th in Football Outsiders' DVOA and 20th in points per game (20.2).

Brady's eight passing touchdowns are his fewest through Week 6 since 2016. That year, he didn't make his first appearance in 2016 until Week 5 while serving a four-game suspension because of the "Deflategate" scandal.

The Bucs have an opportunity to get right on Sunday. They will play a Carolina Panthers team that enters Week 7 with a 1-5 record, has already fired their head coach and could be down to their third-string quarterback if P.J. Walker can't go after suffering a neck injury in a 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.