Roethlisberger 'caught off guard' by Steelers trading Bryant to Raiders

Ben Roethlisberger felt blindsided when the Steelers shipped Martavis Bryant off to the Oakland Raiders during the draft. This, despite the fact the star wideout briefly attempted to force a trade out of Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

"When I heard about Martavis, I was like 'Oh, man.' I really enjoyed playing with Martavis," Roethlisberger said, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think he was a great weapon, he helped our offense, did some great things by attracting attention and making plays for us. I was kind of caught off guard, but teams have reasons for doing things.

"I think part of it was him expressing trade things that we all heard so much about. I think he's probably pretty happy. For him and his family, if you're in a good happy place, then good for him."

The Steelers replaced the troubled Bryant, who was suspended for the entire 2016 campaign due to multiple violations of the NFL's drug policy, with second-round receiver James Washington, who averaged over 20 yards per catch over his last three years at Oklahoma State.

With Washington joining a receiving corps that already boasts arguably the best pass-catcher in the league in Antonio Brown and 2017 breakout rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster, Roethlisberger apparently has no plans to walk away from football and the uber-talented Pittsburgh offense.