Ex-Steeler claims Ben Roethlisberger deliberately fumbled to protest play call

By trading Antonio Brown and letting Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers have solved all of their locker room problems. Right?

Well, maybe not. Ben Roethlisberger, who played a role in the Antonio Brown drama, is still in Pittsburgh and there’s no reason to believe that he’ll refrain from throwing his teammates under the bus.

Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko spoke with two former Steelers who explained how Roethlisberger’s personality may have contributed to the mess in Pittsburgh. One of those players, Josh Harris, who played in Pittsburgh during the 2014 season, has claimed Roethlisberger once intentionally fumbled a ball because he did not agree with then-offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s play call.

2014 week 17 we were playing the bengals. Todd Haley called a run play with very little time left in the game. Ben wanted to kneel. He rolled his eyes in the huddle. He then purposely fumbles the ball. I had to recover it. At that moment I knew what kinda person he was.

— The Bishop (@JoshHarris25) March 10, 2019

Here’s the play in question…

On purpose tho? Really? pic.twitter.com/f9kZC1conr

— The Big Guy (@DabOnThem573) March 11, 2019

We can’t say whether or not Roethlisberger intentionally fumbled the ball, but the play call is clearly for the running back (and not the fullback) so, at the very least, we’re looking at some very careless ball handling on Ben’s part.

Thanks to Sports Illustrated for sharing.