Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders were teammates for four seasons with the Steelers and remain good friends, but Brown took issue with Sanders calling Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning a “far better leader” than Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger earlier this week, Scott Brown of ESPN.com reports.
“That was terrible,” Brown said Wednesday. “You don’t throw your quarterback under the bus, the guy who makes you who you are.”
Roethlisberger and Sanders played together from 2010 to 2013 and the latter signed with the Denver Broncos last March as an unrestricted free agent.
Sanders told 104.3 The Fan Denver on Monday that Manning works tirelessly with the wide receivers after practice and that he doesn’t have to “chase down” the five-time NFL MVP to put in extra time together.
Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who played two seasons with Roethlisberger, defended his former quarterback during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week.
“It’s not that Ben doesn’t lead. He just leads differently than Peyton does,” said Bettis, who is an ESPN NFL analyst. “I think [Sanders] misunderstood what leadership is and he misspoke it and I think it was a little bit of a jab. I think if he had a chance he’d take it back.”
DaveB.
July 31, 2014 at 4:42 am
This coming from a player who was average at best as the Steelers number 2 receiver . Also last time I checked , Ben has more Vince Lombardi’s on his mantle than Peyton .
gabe
July 31, 2014 at 8:26 am
I can see manning being seen as a bigger leader only because manning is the type of s.o.b. that wants everything his way. I don’t recall Sanders bitching to get more practice reps in the burgh. Just during games, where he’d refuse to come back to make the catch.
Mario
August 1, 2014 at 8:17 am
Glad sanders is gone. We don’t need the type of player that badmouths someone in public. What a jerk!