Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is not high on the trajectory of the Baltimore Ravens. Despite being the Super Bowl favorites at the beginning of last season, the Ravens finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Roethlisberger believes the Super Bowl window for the Ravens has closed.
“I think they’re falling apart. I don’t think they’re the same team…They just feel different. They feel like their window closed,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “To me, losing [John] Harbaugh, King Henry’s a year older, his body’s taking a beating, what’s was going on with Lamar last year? He just didn’t seem like the Lamar that we’ve been used to seeing”
Former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smight caught wind of Roethlisberger’s comments. And let’s just say, Smith did not hold back.
“Who cares what Ben Roethlisberger thinks,” Smith said recently on CBS News Baltimore. “He’s never gonna say anything positive. As long as you have Lamar Jackson, your window is there. It’s funny because he’s the same guy that people were saying that about in Pittsburgh, but he was in his 30s. Lamar Jackson is still in his 20s and is very much the best player in the league. I do like Ben Roethlisberger.
“However, seems like this is a guy that’s trying to pump up the sorry Steelers. They’re terrible. I don’t care who they have at quarterback … They have this false sense of reality that all of sudden. Pittsburgh is going to change because Mike Tomlin was the problem. They’re going to find out real quick that the roster is still trash.”
This is not the first time that Roethlisberger has expressed skepticism of the Ravens.
“I would’ve said Baltimore with Lamar Jackson and that, but I think their window is closing. Obviously, Cleveland isn’t in the conversation. Cincinnati, I like what Joe [Burrow] does and their offense is really good, but they don’t care about their defense or anything there,” Roethlisberger said on the Deebo & Joe podcast in April. “I would say Pittsburgh [would win the division].”
Smith ripped Roethlisberger for that statement as well.
“Ben is just making s— up,” Smith wrote on X. “Ain’t no way he truly believes Pittsburgh is ahead of Baltimore or Cincy.”
Smith thinks the Steelers are just a mediocre team and got lucky last year when they won the AFC North.
“Won the division thanks to a horrible (and confirmed) no int and missed Isaiah Likely TD. The Ravens had an injury report that looked like a CVS receipt. They were just ok.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Ravens Wide Receiver Takes Massive Shot at Ben Roethlisberger
