Ben Roethlisberger made his opinions on Steelers third round pick Mason Rudolph abundantly clear in the weeks following the 2018 NFL Draft. He thought the front office could've gotten the team a player that might have helped them win now rather than a developmental quarterback. This obviously put Rudolph in a rather awkward position, with the prospect of having to share a locker room with a franchise legend who seemingly didn't want him there. Big Ben hadn't made contact with Rudolph until last week, and it now seems that the two-time Super Bowl winner has entirely changed his perspective on the young signal caller. At least that's what he says. Roethlisberger wished Rudolph good luck ahead of rookie minicamp via text message, and now it seems like he's backtracking slightly on his original comments on the former Oklahoma State standout. “I think people took some things that I said into a context that I was going to be mean or rude or whatever, and that was not it at all,”via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.“If you listen to the whole conversation, it was said in jest and laughing and having fun.“I’ve never been the type to just be rude or mean to other quarterbacks. You can ask [Landry] Jones. I’ve had a lot of quarterbacks through here who were younger than me that I’ve tried to help any way that I can, so I’ll continue to do that.”

For what it's worth, it seems like the 36-year-old is true to his word as he was actively helping Rudolph during Steelers OTA's, Tuesday. 

The veteran QB gave his young teammate advice on a missed throw to Roosevelt Nix and completed his arm strength after seeing him overthrow All Pro wideout Antonio Brown on a deep ball. 

"He didn't ask me anything, but I inputted my two cents," Roethlisberger said. "I hope he was OK with it."

“He’s got a big arm. He overthrew [Antonio Brown] even though AB’s not going to admit it. He seems to understand the offense, seems to not have any issues in the huddle, so I thought he did really well.”

Rudolph will need all the help he can get to beat out Josh Dobbs and Landry Jones for the backup spot on the roster in 2018, and a little input here and there from a sure-fire Hall of Famer won't go amiss in aiding his development. 

The harmony between the pair is great news for the Steelers too.