First Call: Ben Roethlisberger shares odd Super Bowl XLV injury, take on JuJu Smith-Schuster to New England
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As if Ben Roethlisberger didn’t make enough news with his appearance on 105.9 The X on Tuesday, his latest “Footbahlin’” podcast made a lot more.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback discusses an odd injury that almost kept him out of Super Bowl XLV, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s fit in New England, and he has a suggestion for the current Steelers offense.
We also have the next stop for Steelers brass on the Pro Day tour and a name to track in the draft out of the Big XII.
All that, plus NHL results that impact the Penguins, in Wednesday’s “First Call.”
A new twist
Dating all the way back to the mystery surrounding his “broken toes” at the end of his rookie year to his rib injury of 2012, there has always been intrigue surrounding the extent of Ben Roethlisberger’s injuries.
Well, here’s a new one that goes back to Super Bowl week of 2011 as the Steelers were preparing for the Green Bay Packers in Dallas.
As Roethlisberger said during his most recent “Footbahlin’” podcast, he suffered a foot injury in Dallas during the days leading up to the Super Bowl XLV loss, sliding across a wood floor in his socks while playing shuffleboard.
“A piece of wood shank broke off into the middle of the bottom of my foot. And it was in there so deep that I had to go see the trainers. They had to get it out in little shards — it didn’t just come out like one piece — there were little pieces in there, like shards of wood. It was awful. And it was one of those painful things that I had to deal with. I soaked my foot. We did everything. I wore a bigger size shoe. We couldn’t shoot it up because if your foot goes numb, you’re done. Yeah. That was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to go through. (In) warmups, I’m looking at Mike (Tomlin), like, I don’t know that I could play.”
Roethlisberger didn’t say if he felt the injury impacted his performance at all in the game. He threw for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
It’s another interesting chapter of folklore to that Super Bowl defeat, especially in the wake of Max Starks’ recent intimation that the Steelers perhaps prioritized the pass attack and Roethlisberger’s stats too much in the game plan.
What’s new with JuJu
Roethlisberger also shared his thoughts on wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster going to New England in free agency. A listener of the show asked Roethlisberger how he thought things would work with the ex-Steelers receiver being coached by a disciplinarian like Bill Belichick.
Especially given Smith-Schuster’s knack for bringing attention to himself on social media, and occasionally angering opponents in the process.
“I think that’s awesome for him. I think it’d be interesting to see, because JuJu is a very fun-loving guy. And he’s got to play for two head coaches in Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin that are very relaxed and laid back and allow a lot of things, a lot of fun. I don’t know that the coach that he’s playing for now maybe allows as much fun. So it would be interesting to see if, how, and what JuJu has to do to dial it back a little bit,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s gonna give it everything he has. He’ll give his heart and soul for the team. … He’s growing up a little bit now. Maybe he won’t be too crazy.”
Well, if Smith-Schuster’s recent Twitter jabs at Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry are any indication, maybe Smith-Schuster hasn’t matured as much as Big Ben is suggesting.
A little advice
Finally from Big Ben’s podcast, since we are talking about wideouts, Roethlisberger suggested it might be a good idea for the Steelers to add a veteran presence to the wide receiver room in free agency.
“I thought this last year. I still think they could like adding a veteran wide receiver,” Roethlisberger said. “You get a veteran wide receiver, especially with the good wide receivers they have. … You’ve got some really good guys that could benefit from having a veteran guy in there. Diontae (Johnson) is getting a little bit older now, so he’s kind of a veteran, but … yeah.”
Yeah. Sure. I’d echo that. If that veteran receiver is good in the red zone, even better. Adam Thielen came to mind when the Minnesota Vikings let him go this offseason. But he was quickly snatched up by the Carolina Panthers. He had 16 touchdowns over the last two years. Jerricho Cotchery played that role in Pittsburgh from 2011-13, scoring 10 touchdowns his last year with the Steelers.
Randall Cobb, Odell Beckham Jr., Jamison Crowder, Sammy Watkins, and Jarvis Landry are all veterans who are available and could fill that role.
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Latest stop
After visiting Iowa’s Pro Day on Monday, Steelers reps made a stop at Iowa State’s. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had defensive back Anthony Jonson go through some drills in front of NFL executives including Tomlin and Steelers general manager Omar Khan.
Pittsburgh Steelers scout putting Iowa State DB Anthony Johnson through a few drills. #Cyclones pic.twitter.com/sSoWxpz5cs
— Bill Seals (@williamseals) March 21, 2023
Johnson is supposedly viewed as a safety/slot corner hybrid type of defensive back. He’s listed as the sixth-best safety on the board according to NFL.com.
As far as Wednesday goes, Tomlin and Khan are expected to be at Ohio State’s Pro Day. That’s according to “Monday Morning Quarterback’s” Albert Breer.
• Seahawks HC Pete Carroll/GM John Schneider
• Steelers HC Mike Tomlin/GM Omar Khan
• Titans HC Mike Vrabel/GM Ran CarthonTitans have OC, AGM on the list … Giants w/AGM, OC, QB and OL coaches … Pats w/WRs and OL coaches … Will McClay/Dan Quinn there for Dallas.
(2/2)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 21, 2023
That’s no surprise seeing as how the Buckeyes have numerous players who may be draft worthy this year. Quarterback C.J. Stroud may go No. 1 overall. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the top wideouts. And their two offensive tackles — Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones — should be of particular interest to the Steelers.
Go figure
Of all teams, the Philadelphia Flyers helped out the Penguins on Tuesday night.
The Pens’ struggling cross-state rivals beat the Florida Panthers 6-3. Carter Hart had 41 saves and Travis Sanheim scored two goals.
The Orange & The Black and The Buzzing. #FLAvsPHI | #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/RYYYdNvsWE
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 22, 2023
The regulation loss means the Panthers don’t pick up any points in their quest to hold off the Penguins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They stay stuck at 79 points. The Pens have 78 and play the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Flyers have just 64 points, the third-lowest total in the Eastern Conference.
As for the New York Islanders, they own the first wild-card slot. They whipped the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2 on Tuesday. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made perhaps the save of the year for New York along the way.
Ilya Sorokin with a huge denial! ✋ pic.twitter.com/c4xh6Mn5OW
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 22, 2023
The Islanders now have 82 points. Toronto is stuck on 93, good for second place in the Atlantic Division.