Ben Roethlisberger Gets Passive-Aggressive

Time heals some wounds, but not all. Clearly, there's still some Antonio Brown scar tissue annoying Ben Roethlisberger and today he decided to itch it.

During a call with reporters, Roethlisberger heaped praise on wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in regards to his reaction to rookie Chase Claypool's breakout performance on Sunday. For those who don't know, Claypool had four touchdowns in the Steelers' win against the Eagles with over 100 yards receiving. Smith-Schuster, the presumed No. 1 target, had only 28 receiving yards and no touchdowns. He doesn't have a 100-yard game this season.

According to Roethlisberger, the lack of production didn't get JuJu down, however. In fact, he was (get this) happy for Claypool, which is very unlike some of Roethlisberger's old teammates.

I'll admit, I'm taking some liberties with the interpretation of who Roethlisberger is referring to. But a simple look back at his tenure with the Steelers points squarely to one person. He might not have meant for this quote to come off that way, but when you say one person is selfless and remind us of others in your past who were not, there's really only one answer for who you were referring to.

Throughout his tenure with the Steelers, Brown routinely complained about his production even after the Steelers won a game. His relationship with Roethlisberger became strained and, eventually, the two sparred through the media. Brown apologized to Roethlisberger on Instagram earlier this year, but by that point Brown was already out of the league, having burned bridges with the Raiders and Patriots after being dealt away from Pittsburgh. He remains a free agent.

Regardless, the Steelers are 4-0 and have a new young wide receiver who seems primed to be the next star in a long line of them. Smith-Schuster remains happy and Big Ben is healthy and playing at a high level for now. It's all going according to plan for the Steelers and no oversized ego is in position to derail them now.