Ross Tucker: Steelers handled Ben Roethlisberger situation 'perfectly' last season

It was reported last month that retired quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger may have some "bad blood" with the Pittsburgh Steelers over the way the final days of his career played out. Roethlisberger accepted a pay cut to provide the club with necessary salary-cap space ahead of the 2021 campaign but largely looked like a shell of his former self by the time this past January rolled around. Most, if not all outsiders, believed it was time for the franchise to go in a different direction at the position regardless of Roethlisberger's wishes. 

Pittsburgh did just that after Big Ben officially called time on his playing days by signing veteran Mitchell Trubisky and then by spending a first-round draft choice on Pittsburgh Panthers product Kenny Pickett, who presumably will sit behind Trubisky for much, if not all, of the upcoming season. 

Former offensive lineman and current NFL analyst Ross Tucker offered some hot takes about Steelers running back Najee Harris during a Friday morning appearance on Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan, but Tucker also praised the franchise for how it handled the quarterback situation last year. 

"They in fact made the playoffs and they still got the first quarterback off the board. They had their pick of the guys this year. I would say, actually, I think they did it perfectly," Tucker explained, per Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. "You know, I was a fan. If you guys remember last year, I was a believer in giving Ben one more shot, because I also thought it was just a year ago that they had, what were they? 11 and 0, and I know he had some shoulder issues. He didn't play great, but I thought he, and sort of that group, deserved one more go 'round and they did it and they made the playoffs.

"You guys have a different standard and I get it and you should, but like there are franchises that never make the playoffs. There are GMs and head coaches that will cut off the tip of their pinky to make the playoffs and the Steelers do it in like a rebuilding year."

The irony, of course, is that the Steelers may soon enter a rebuilding campaign if Trubisky underwhelms and Pickett learns some difficult yet important on-the-field lessons as a starter in December and early January.