The Sports Xchange

Ben Roethlisberger isn’t counting his victories just yet, and the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said he is hoping Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is on the field when the team’s meet in New England for the NFL Kickoff game in September.

“He’s a guy, I’ve said for a long time, he’s the best in the business, and he proved it again last year winning his fourth (Super Bowl),” Roethlisberger said. “If he’s not out there, it’s not the same. I have a lot of respect for him on the football field and some of the unbelievable things that he’s done. I guess we’ll wait and see what’s finally going to happen.”

Roethsliberger said the Sept. 10 game would be lacking without Brady, but he’s also not convinced Brady’s four-game suspension will keep him off the field that night when the Patriots are scheduled to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.

The Steelers are planning to work without All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, who is serving a two-game ban for a marijuana-related arrest.

His likely replacement, veteran newcomer DeAngelo Williams, said he doesn’t and won’t care if Brady suits up in September.

“It’s not my team. I don’t play against Tom Brady anyway,” Williams said. “I play against the defense.”