As Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tries to tie former Browns quarterback Derek Anderson for the most wins in Cleveland since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 with 10, the current cornerstone of the team’s offense knows that Ben gets specific pleasure from beating Ohio’s less-accomplished franchise.
“They made the mistake of not drafting him, obviously, but it would’ve been great if we did,” left tackle Joe Thomas said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. “Obviously, it’s still a sore subject to him, and it seems like he enjoys sticking it to the Browns whenever he can for not drafting him.”
One thing Thomas is overlooking -- if “we” had drafted Roethlisberger in 2004, Thomas would be referring to the Browns as “they,” since the Browns likely wouldn’t have been picking third overall in 2007, when they picked Thomas.
The Browns worked out Roethlisberger days before the draft more than a dozen years ago.
“I thought I did really good, by the way, but I guess not,” Roethlisberger said this week, via Ulrich.
The Browns have tried to use first-round picks on quarterbacks, but none have thrived. With coach Hue Jackson there to develop the next one (if there is a next one in 2017), that could change.
The bigger question is whether Jackson will be back in 2017. He should be, but if the Browns don’t win a game this year, it could be hard for ownership to justify not making huge changes.
Jackson could make all that moot by keeping Roethlisberger from doing what few Browns quarterbacks can do later today: Win in Cleveland.