Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Gets Honest About Strange Situation With Byron Leftwich: "It Was Kind Of Weird"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have seemingly been in quarterback purgatory ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 NFL season. The franchise has tried everything from signing a veteran who could use a change of scenery in Mitch Trubisky, drafting a quarterback with a high pick by selecting Kenny Pickett, and even bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Things remain the same as the team continues to struggle at the position, which is something that never had to be worried about while Roethlisberger was the quarterback for 18 seasons.

Roethlisberger's career was fairly steady in Pittsburgh. He won two Super Bowls early on, and took the team to a third. He led some great teams that were held back by a poor defense in the 2010s, and he even made it to the playoffs in his last season in 2021. He is a future Hall of Famer, and any player that came into Pittsburgh to be his backup should have known that there was no chance of unseating Roethlisberger from his starting job. 

As it turns out, former backup Byron Leftwich came into Pittsburgh and tried to compete for the starting gig, which Roethlisberger spoke about on the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.

"Byron Leftwich did it," Roethlisberger admitted. "He came here the first time, and Byron was a stud, he was like, he was competing with me. We were relatively cool with each other before, just because we were only a year apart, we both played in the MAC. Did some football things together. Very, very cordial to each other. Then when he came here, it turned into this competitive thing. There wasn't really much a friendship, it was kind of weird I thought."

The stint Roethlisberger is referring to is when Leftwich joined the Steelers during the 2008 offseason. He began his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars after being a first-round pick, and he then spent a season with the Atlanta Falcons before signing with Pittsburgh. He wanted to get back to being a starter, and he had not cemented himself as a career backup quite yet.

Leftwich's first stint in Pittsburgh was only for one season. He was called upon a few times as he appeared in five games and threw two touchdowns to go along with 303 yards. He played well enough to get another chance elsewhere, as he signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was named the team's starting quarterback. He was quickly benched, which might have made him realize he was destined to be a backup, which Roethlisberger touched on as his second stint in Pittsburgh was different.

"He left, and then when he came back, he was like, 'Man, I was wrong. I'm not going to beat you out. I am here to support you and help you,'" Roethlisberger said. "We are still really good friends. He went to Tampa, we were texting when he won the Super Bowl. He went and came back, and he learned how to be a pro."

Leftwich accepted his role as a backup during his second stint with the Steelers, and he spent three seasons with the team. He wound up ending his career with the Steelers, and he is known as a solid backup, despite not knowing how to properly do the job at first.

Steelers' Former Quarterback Went On To Have Successful Coaching Career

Leftwich got into coaching shortly after retiring as a player. He was with his former Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians, as the two got close during their time in Pittsburgh. Leftwich joined Arians while he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern, and he worked his way up to being the team's quarterbacks coach and interim offensive coordinator. He followed Arians to Tampa Bay, where he served as the offensive coordinator for four seasons, and he won Super Bowl LV. He now serves as an assistant coach at Colorado under Deion Sanders.

What do you think about Roethlisberger's story about Leftwich? Let us know in the comments below!

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