Ben Roethlisberger Praises Antonio Brown, Says He's 'Blessed' to Play with WR

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger downplayed any tension between him and Antonio Brown, saying Tuesday on KDKA-FM radio that he's "blessed" to play with the wide receiver, via Chris Adamski of TribLive:

"I am blessed to pay with him. He's one of my closest friends on the team. AB and I have been together for a long time; I owe so much of my success to him and consider him a really close friend on the team…. I know some (teammates) are frustrated. I think the biggest thing is guys tried to reach out to him and haven’t heard back; that’s what’s frustrating to those guys."

Roethlisberger said he was unaware of any falling out between himself and Brown, saying the two spoke Thursday and "everything was great and fine." The pair have not spoken since, according to Roethlisberger.              

"I called and texted and reached out numerous times and tried to find out [what's] going on," Roethlisberger said, "but I really couldn’t get any answers."

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported Brown and Roethlisberger got into a "fairly ugly" altercation. The wide receiver was reportedly at fault and did not show up to a walk-through Saturday and was benched for Sunday's critical game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Brown was officially listed as out with a knee injury.

"I think we're just frustrated," Roethlisberger said. "We want AB to play. He makes us all better. He had an amazing season this year. He makes me who I am. It's really just about [lack of] communication is the biggest thing for a lot of us."

While Brown apparently hasn't been connecting with Steelers teammates, he has been in contact with members of the San Francisco 49ers. The All-Pro wideout responded to a tweet from 49ers tight end George Kittle that was ostensibly attempting to recruit him to San Francisco. 

The Steelers would have to pay a $21.1 million cap hit if they traded or released Brown. The 30-year-old wideout finished the 2018 regular season with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns.