Eric Ebron was around for the final two years of Ben Roethlisberger’s Hall of Fame career. He missed Roethlisberger’s prime as a gunslinging quarterback and instead played in his twilight moments, one nearing 40 who lost his patented mobility and was bouncing back from a severe elbow injury. Ebron joined Cam Heyward on Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast to talk about his relationship with Roethlisberger.

“Ben’s a complicated person,” Ebron told Heyward in the episode that aired Wednesday. “Ben’s very complicated. I did everything I could. I stayed at Ben’s house. I was in Ben’s ear. I would ask him a lot of questions.

“And then Ben would like to try you as a player. You’d be open, he’ll throw the ball 17 feet in the air just to test your athletic ability. Or throw it behind your head…I’m like, ‘Hey Ben,  I’m not a rookie. I get this is my first year in Pittsburgh, but I’m not a rookie bro. We gotta get along.’ So a lot of it was kissing ass.”

Roethlisberger is on record saying he would challenge receivers, especially rookies or new ones, to test their limits and see how they’d respond. Ebron wasn’t brand new to the league and came to Pittsburgh with a lengthy resume, a one-time Pro Bowler who caught 13 touchdowns two years before signing with the Steelers.

Ebron’s comments intimate Roethlisberger formed a quicker relationship with TE Pat Freiermuth, drafted in 2021, and someone Roethlisberger heaped praise on immediately. To this day, Roethlisberger touts Freiermuth and repeatedly urged the Steelers to get him more involved last season. 

“Ben could be moody, but cool if you make plays,” Ebron said. “That’s really all you had to do for Ben to get on Ben’s good side was make plays. That was it. And once I started making plays, that’s when I got invited to the porch talk.”

Ebron made plays in his first year with the team. He finished 2020 with 56 receptions, 558 yards, and five touchdowns with another 62 yards and a score in Pittsburgh’s Wild Card loss to the Cleveland Browns. Ebron struggled to replicate that in 2021 and injuries shortened his season as the Steelers’ offense finished bottom half in football. Ebron didn’t play another NFL down and officially retired during the 2024 season after an eight-year career.

Ebron’s points are his experience and track with what others, and Roethlisberger himself, have said. It’s worth pointing out Ebron was trying to build a relationship with Roethlisberger during the COVID year that came with plenty of restrictions. Training camp looked far different with the team practicing in Pittsburgh instead of Latrobe, losing the valuable camaraderie that bonds players during that time of year.

Even if Ebron spent time at his house and off the field together, it wasn’t the best environment for new players to gain chemistry with teammates. Had Ebron joined just two years earlier for the 2018 season, before COVID and Roethlisberger’s age and injuries catching up to him perhaps his experience would’ve been different.

Or maybe not, and Ebron, honest as anyone about his career and time in the NFL, could have had the same feeling as he does today.