Pittsburgh Steelers captain Cameron Heyward expressed displeasure with recent comments by former longtime teammate Ben Roethlisberger that many current players have a me-type attitude.

On Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast released Wednesday, Heyward said Roethlisberger’s comments that players changed from being more team-oriented to having a me-first attitude “rub me the wrong way.”

“I was a little bit upset about it,” said the Steelers defensive lineman, who led the team into its first day of training camp workouts Wednesday. “I was always raised to protect the locker room, protect the guys. The way it seems, and this is my point of view, this is what I see, it looks as though we are looked at as selfish players. I think that’s not the point.

“I think we have a lot of young players that come from different backgrounds. I think we have guys that have experienced different things than what I or somebody else might have experienced. That doesn’t make them selfish or it doesn’t make them more of a me-type attitude.”

Roethlisberger retired in January after 18 seasons. He was a six-time Pro-Bowl selection who is fifth in NFL history in passing yards (64,088). He also helped the Steelers win the Super Bowl after the 2005 and 2008 seasons.

Heyward played with Roethlisberger since he was drafted out of Ohio State in the first round in 2011. They were co-captains together since the 2015 season.

“When you have young guys, it’s up to the leadership to step up, myself included,” Heyward said. “I’m accountable for those guys. Obviously, we haven’t had a Super Bowl in a long time. Maybe that’s where Ben’s like, man, if younger guys had grown up. …

“We have a game we love to play. Guys come from different backgrounds. Some guys need more help than others,” Heyward continued. “It’s up to a vet to take you under your wing, pull you across and say, ‘This is what it’s like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.’ That’s what I’m trying to do. Maybe Ben didn’t see it that way.”

Heyward mentioned several players who displayed a team-first attitude when on the field, including Antonio Brown, Tyson Alualu, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Brett Keisel, who Heyward called a mentor and was a guest later in the podcast.

“You just can’t say it’s a me-type attitude right now,” Heyward said. “Everybody is out to be a Super Bowl winner, and everybody is out to make money and one day be an MVP. But when it all comes together, we care about one thing, this logo right here. When we put that jersey on, we understand we are very fortunate to do it. We just have to continue to live through that.

“I think Ben was a little out on that one.”

Heyward was upset with Roethlisberger’s comments, but he was quick to mention how much the quarterback meant to the organization.

“Don’t try to say, ‘Hey, Cam is calling out Ben.’ It’s not like that. I will say, I will protect my team. I will make sure everybody knows that we care only about football on the field and less about off the field,” he said.

“I just hope we can all understand Ben has been a heck of a quarterback. You don’t do this game and become a Hall of Fame quarterback for 18 years and do it a low level. Ben has taken some hits over the years that not a lot of other teams can do. He’s thrown the ball countless times. He’s saved us. He’s won games that we weren’t supposed to win. And, he’s always stepped up.

“But it was a team around him that helped him do it. I don’t want anyone to ever forget that the whole team won, not just Ben.”

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