Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Humiliated A Rookie: "I Was So Embarrassed"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently stuck in a vicious cycle at the quarterback position where the organization seems to just be hoping that it can get lucky by finding a diamond in the rough past the first round of the NFL Draft. It has been a steady stream of veteran quarterbacks filling in at the position for the Steelers, and the franchise has had a different opening day starter in five consecutive seasons. That trend can be broken in 2026 if Aaron Rodgers decides to return, but there hasn't been much consistency within the offense since Ben Roethlisberger was running the show from under center.

Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 NFL season, and he was still a pretty efficient player toward the end of his career. His arm strength definitely took a dive, but he could still successfully run an offense. In his final years, one of his main targets was wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson is no longer with the Steelers as he was traded during the 2024 offseason, and he is currently not on an NFL roster. He is searching for his next home in the NFL, but he recently made an appearance on the Off The Clock podcast. He was asked if he had any stories about Roethlisberger, and he recalled one from his rookie year back in 2019.

"Bro, minicamp. I was so embarrassed. I was so mad," Johnson said. "It's the day we got there. We just getting the plays, [Wide] Receivers Coach Darryl Drake, rest in peace, he's like, 'We got these new plays today, y'all better not mess up.' You better know I'm out there, I'm a rookie, I'm making sure I'm knowing them. We get to routes on air, [Roethlisberger] hit me with some signals. I'm like, 'We ain't go over that.' He look at me, I'm at the line, he just dropped the ball, 'Go down there. Go to the other line with the other guys.' It was the backups, he told me to go over there, he ain't throw to me the rest of practice."

The young wide receiver wound up flourishing with Roethlisberger eventually, but things started off a little bit rocky. Johnson was not up to date on the signals that the offense would be using, and Roethlisberger sent him over to work with the backups so he wouldn't have to throw to him.

Johnson did not seem to hold any grudges over this, he was just embarrassed at the time when it happened. However, this was probably a good sign of leadership. Johnson probably made sure to have every signal the offense might use mesmerized the next time he ran out onto the field. Johnson continues the story, and it includes an exchange with Mike Tomlin about the situation.

"I went to Coach T, I'm like, 'Coach T, what's up with Ben?'" Johnson said. "I said, 'He the quarterback, I'm trying to build a relationship.' He like, 'Nah, you need to focus on Mason [Rudolph] right now.'"

Johnson was essentially banished to work with the backups, which included quarterback Mason Rudolph. This isn't all that bad considering he was a third-round pick, so there was no guarantee that he would be seeing sizable snaps on offense.

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Had Some Rocky Moments With Diontae Johnson

Roethlisberger was always trying to get the best out of Johnson, and the quarterback was viewed as a leader by the young wideout. Roethlisberger would often give Johnson constructive criticism, but it was not always in the best way. The quarterback was once critical of the receiver during a radio hit, and that got blown out of proportion and probably made things a bit weird between the two. 

Aside from that, the two had a decent connection on the field, and Johnson was a big reason for Roethlisberger's success later on in his career.

What do you think about this story from Johnson? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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