Steelers receiver Hines Ward was blindsided by comment made by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who reportedly approached the team about acquiring a tall wide receiver to help him in the red zone.
Huh?
Big Ben, who won a Super Bowl two years ago with the 6-foot Ward winning MVP honors, wants a Plaxico Burress type receiver, hoping the Steelers can find said receiver in the draft or in free agency.
Not surprisingly, Ward responded with shock about the comments, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"I'm always going to ask for a tall receiver," Roethlisberger said in an interview with the Post-Gazette. "That's just me. Our receivers are unbelievable, but our tallest guy might be Hines. Or Santonio [Holmes]. Hines is going to say he's 6 foot, but he's 5-11."
Said Ward: "I don't hear Tom Brady or Peyton Manning asking for that. I don't know, whatever he says. I have no idea. To me, it's a rare combination of receivers out there who are good and tall. We won a Super Bowl, we didn't have a tall receiver then. I don't see Tom Brady caring about who's tall or not. He got Randy this year, but he did it before without him.''
More Ward: "To me, I have enough problems to worry about than what Ben wants -- I can't give him the contract. He wants a tall receiver? Why did we draft Santonio (Holmes)?"
Holmes, who stands 5-11, led the Steelers with eight touchdowns and 942 yards receiving last season, on 52 catches. His 18.1 yards per catch were higher than any of the top 50 receivers in the NFL. Ward led them with 71 receptions despite playing much of the season with a sprained knee and caught seven touchdown passes. Nate Washington, who stands 6-1, was third with 29 catches.