When Ben Roethlisberger failed in clarifying rift with former Steelers WR Antonio Brown -“Consider him one of my closer friends”

Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown were one of the greatest quarterbacks and wide receiver duos in the NFL. Having played in 120 games together for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the duo's stats surpassed even that of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. So what exactly went wrong?

Towards the end of the 2018 NFL season, Brown was placed on the injured list with a knee issue. He apparently also wasn't attending practices and team meetings and it all blew over leading up to Week 17, as the Steelers prepared for their last game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sources at the time said that Brown left the practice field irate and threw a football at Roethlisberger. It apparently was due to him being asked to run a route during a walk through practice.

After the Steelers defeated the Bengals, Ben Roethlisberger was asked about the wide receiver and the altercation while making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan Pittsburgh. He said that he was unaware of any issue with Brown. He also went on to say that he considered the wide receiver one of his closest friends.

"Each guy's got to answer that question on their own. Like I said, I'm blessed to play with him and I consider him one of my closer friends. I know guys that are frustrated. I think the biggest thing is, some of the guys that I've talked to, they tried to reach out to him and they haven't heard back."

But, then he went on to say that other Pittsburgh Steelers' teammates were unable to get into contact with the wide receiver after he walked out of the facility.

In that January 2019 interview with the radio station, the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback was unable to clarify if there was or wasn't an issue between the two.

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Did Antonio Brown play for his own AFL team last week?

In recent months, Antonio Brown has made headlines with the situation surrounding his purchase of the Albany Empire. The once two-time Arena League Champions have disappointed to sell tickets so far this season.

In attempt to increase ticket sales, the former NFL wide receiver announced last month that he would suit up for a home game. He was supposed to play for the Empire last weekend which caused an increase in ticket sales.

But, he never took the field. Many believed it was just a ploy to sell tickets and that he never had any intention of playing.

But, Antonio Brown apparenly didn't pass the Arena Football League's physical, which was mandatory before he was allowed to play for the team.