Everyone is thrilled to have Ben Roethlisberger back in the fold, including tight end Vance McDonald, who is entering his fourth season with the Steelers.
From the time that he arrived in Pittsburgh three years ago to now, McDonald said that he sees a different Roethlisberger — in a good way.
“The way he attacks the day is just different than I’d seen him since I got here in 2017,” McDonald said in a Tuesday post-practice press conference. “So I’m loving the leadership from him, I’m loving again just that hunger and fire. Again, I think you will notice that trickle down to the entire offense as we kind of get started rocking and rolling here. Guys are just flocking to him. The hunger is real from Ben.”
Roethlisberger wasn’t shy about proclaiming his lofty aspirations for the 2020 season. He said last week that he wants to win “Lombardis” and stressed multiple.
So, Big Ben’s voracity at training camp hasn’t surprised McDonald in the slightest.
“This is the most I’ve ever seen Ben in terms of just hunger for winning a championship,” McDonald said. “Not to say he didn’t have that in the past. I can respect that being down last season made it all the more real for him. And being able to go through a very heavy surgery for a quarterback thrower for him and to be where he is right now has made him so hungry.”
McDonald added that timing was a big issue last season with quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. He said everything changed in terms of communication and routes and what to expect. “You don’t have to focus on that with Ben.”
The tight end can visualize how much the offense will improve with their fearless leader under center.
“Objectively — remove me from the fact I’m a Steeler — but I don’t see how our offense can not be super productive and be one of the top offenses in the NFL,” said McDonald. “I think the excitement is obviously everywhere here in our building (with) the potential we know we can reach, the numbers we know we can put up.”
In McDonald’s three seasons with Pittsburgh, he’s contributed 1,071 yards on 102 receptions and eight touchdowns. He’s currently under contract through the 2021 season.
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