Steelers GM Kevin Colbert Backs Ben Roethlisberger in Antonio Brown Drama

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert defended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's leadership style in comments relayed by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on Wednesday (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk):

Fowler then provided the full response:

Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, who has requested a trade, recently called out Roethlisberger on Twitter for having an "owner mentality":

Roethlisberger has not been shy about criticizing players (and even coaches) publicly, notably doing so after the team's Week 12 loss to the Denver Broncos, per Herbie Teope of NFL.com.  

As Teope noted on Nov. 28, "During his weekly Tuesday radio show on 93.7 The Fan, Roethlisberger took issue with [Brown's] route running on a late-game interception, rookie James Washington dropping a pass and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner not calling JuJu Smith-Schuster's number enough on the final drive."

Roethlisberger defended his right to criticize fellow Steelers: "I think I have earned the right to be able to do that with as long as I have been here," Roethlisberger said, per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "and I'll just be just as critical of myself [in the media], as well."

Whether or not one agrees with Roethlisberger's tactics, Colbert's stance in defending the quarterback isn't particularly surprising.

Brown is on his way out of town, and Roethlisberger is a franchise quarterback who told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in May 2018 that he plans on playing three to five more years.

One campaign from that stretch is in the books, leaving two to four more seasons.

It wouldn't make much sense for Colbert to go out of his way to criticize the player who the team has hitched its proverbial wagon to into the 2020s.

At this point, the Steelers are clearly Roethlisberger's team more than ever before.