Ben Roethlisberger Won’t Be the One to Reign in Chase Claypool: ‘That’s Not Really My Job’

MINNEAPOLIS — Second-year Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool had an interesting game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, to say the least.

Claypool earned an early personal foul penalty that caused him to be benched by head coach Mike Tomlin.

When he returned, he missed a block on a crucial short-yardage running play, fumbled the ball away (though it was later overturned by replay), and cost the team time on its final drive by celebrating a first down with the clock running.

In between, Claypool caught eight passes for 98 yards to lead the Steelers in both categories.

His talent and lack of maturity make for an interesting dichotomy, but don’t expect starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be the one to jump and in try to set the young receiver straight.

Asked about Claypool’s night, he quickly deferred to Mike Tomlin.

“That’s not really my job,” Roethlisberger said. “To me, that goes up to Coach Tomlin. That’s what he needs to do. That’s his job as the head coach. As the quarterback, it’s my job to help manage what we do on the field and get first downs, trying to score. Dealing with players issues, and whatever else you want to say, that’s the coach’s job.”