The agents for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have disputed the report that Ben could ask to be traded in the offseason. The team has now chimed in, too.
“Contrary to erroneous reports, the Pittsburgh Steelers have not explored trading quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and have no plans to do so,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement posted on the team’s official website.
In response to the Steelers’ response, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says he didn’t report that which the Steelers now deny.
“What Steelers denied, I did not report,” Rapoport said on Twitter.
We fully support reporters defending their work, but reporters who work for the network owned equally by all 32 teams should, at times, tread lightly. Rooney believes Rapoport’s report was erroneous. Calling Rooney out on that point via Twitter is brave. Or foolish. Or somewhere in between.
Regardless, we now know that Roethlisberger doesn’t want out and the Steelers don’t want him out.
Which probably means a divorce is inevitable.