In Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback, the veteran football scribe shared bits of conversations he's had with Goodell, and among them was the topic of Ben Roethlisberger's suspension. After the quarterback was caught behaving badly in a Georgia nightclub, Goodell suspended him for six games, though it was eventually reduced to four.
Though the punishment was strong, Goodell said he tried to find reasons to make it lighter. The only problem was that none of Roethlisberger's teammates could give the commissioner a good reason.
Goodell told King that he talked to "I bet two dozen [Steeler] players" and "not one, not a single player, went to [Roethlisberger's] defense. It wasn't personal in a sense, but all kinds of stories like, 'He won't sign my jersey.'"
It's certainly a telling statement from the commissioner, but it's also not the first time Roethlisberger's teammates haven't had his back. In November 2009, when the quarterback sat out a game due to a concussion, Hines Ward said about half of the locker room supported him.
The Steelers are set to arrive in Dallas on Monday afternoon, and it'd be hard for Roethlisberger to ignore the fact that none of his teammates made an effort to defend his character before the season began.
