David Carr on Ben Roethlisberger: Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell Make Him Look Great

David Carr posted his top 10 quarterbacks for the 2018 season. Tom Brady topped it, followed by Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Another veteran, Ben Roethlisberger, did not make his list. Here’s what Carr had to say.

"Why is Ben Roethlisberger off my list? Yes, he’s a future Hall of Famer and there’s no doubt he can still help the Steelers. But, he has the most talented skill players in the league on his unit, and that pair — Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell — makes him look great 14 seasons in. I don’t think Big Ben could win a ton of games without them at this stage in his career."

I know this will cue some David Carr jokes, as Carr certainly can’t come close to the NFL career of Ben Roethlisberger. But I actually agree with Carr. When we did our “ranking the quarterbacks” as a staff earlier this year, he collectively came in 8th on our list, but I had him at 16th.

Ben Roethlisberger was 9th in Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt in both 2016 and 2017 while playing with a receiver and running back who are in the top 3 at their respective positions, along with playing with a good offensive line. He’s throwing in some stinkers on a semi-regular basis along with great games. He’ll be 36 this year and hasn’t been a top 5 quarterback statistically even despite playing with elite talent.