Late last month Emmanuel Sanders turned heads by essentially bashing Ben Roethlisberger when saying Peyton Manning is a "far better leader."
Earlier this week Sanders told NFL Media's Omar Ruiz he didn't mean it to disrespect Big Ben, but wasn't going to take it back either.
"I don't have not one regret," Sanders said. "If I said it, then I meant it, but at the end of the day, it wasn't meant for disrespect anyone. I got so much love for everybody over there in Pittsburgh. They know me. I didn't mean any harm."
On Wednesday, Roethlisberger was asked about Sanders' comments on his leadership. The two-time Super Bowl champion partly understood, he just wished he'd have gotten a phone call.
"He's going to say whatever he can about the quarterback he is with," Big Ben said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I was more disappointed he didn't reach out to me. I know he told some other guys: 'You know I love Ben, I didn't mean it like that.' I wish he would have reached out to me and just say that and I would have been fine with it."
What disappointed Roethlisberger even more about Sanders' shot was that the quarterback was a vital reason the Steelers matched the offer sheet in 2013 when the receiver was a restricted free agent.
"Whether he meant it or not, it hurt in a sense that I tried so hard to keep him here last year and was always supporting him," Roethlisberger said. "When he was down in practice, I always talked to him. When he had a baby, I was trying to help him."
In summation: Sanders didn't mean it to scorn anybody and Big Ben just wants to chat.
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