From Clifton Brown, at the Baltimore Ravens Official website:

As Terrell Suggs prepares to join the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor presented by Meritage Jewelers, his longtime nemesis Ben Roethlisberger wishes him well, and with much respect.

Suggs will be honored at halftime of Sunday’s Ravens-Lions at M&T Bank Stadium, watching his name join the Ring of Honor with legends like such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden.



During his 16 seasons with the Ravens, Suggs was beloved for his irrepressible spirit and irreverent sense of humor, finishing as the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks (132.5) and forced fumbles (37). The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year was a seven-time Pro Bowler who had a Hall of Fame worthy career and helped the Ravens win their second Super Bowl following the 2012 season.

However, no rivalry defined Suggs’ career like the one had had with the Steelers and Roethlisberger.

“Tell Suggs I said congratulations. I loved playing against him because of the competitors we both are, the battles that we would have, the mutual respect that we had for each other. And I absolutely hated it because he was either intercepting a pass, knocking passes down, sacking me – something that just made my day miserable.

“When we were going to play Baltimore, I had to know where he was. I had to try and mentally beat him and that was hard. People talk about his physicality and what kind of physical freak he was. But he was a smart football player. You could outsmart a lot of guys, but not him. When I had to go up against him, I had to stress my brain. Only he can answer if I raised his game, but I know he always raised mine. He was a special player.”


The careers of Suggs and Roethlisberger were closely intertwined – Suggs drafted in 2003 and Roethlisberger in 2004. Their teams met twice every season, and sometimes a third time in the playoffs. Every year, Suggs knew he’d have to get past the Steelers.

“You never want to lose to the Steelers,” Suggs said on “The Lounge” podcast. “Especially if we lost to them early in the season. You can’t get swept. That’s blasphemy. This game is the game that made me the player. This is the most special game in the NFL, Ravens and Steelers. Especially in those days. You had hard-hitting. You had superstars on both sides, primarily defensive guys. That’s why the rivalry was what it was.

Suggs gave his props to Roethlisberger, saying that competing against him helped bring out his best.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ben Roethlisberger. I don’t have nothing bad to say about the guy. He broke my heart a lot of times, but I probably broke his sometimes, too. I loved playing against the guy. I love where it took me mentally.”


Roethlisberger said he hadn’t spoken to Suggs since they last faced each other, but that he expects to see him one day as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where the two rivals will one day wear gold jackets.

“There’s no doubt he’s a Hall of Famer, first ballot in my opinion. I don’t see how he’s not. When you talk about who deserves to get in, ask the question, ‘Were you one of the best in the generation that you played? If you ask that question about Suggs, it’s a no-brainer for anybody who played against him. He’s special.”



You can read their full interviews here.


It wasn’t that long ago:




“He’s one of those rare players that raised the level of not only the players around him, but the players that played against him. You couldn’t have a bad game and thought you were going to win against him. You couldn’t make mistakes and think you were going to win. He was always going to compete and he was always going to try to make a play. That’s going to be his legacy.” — Terrell Suggs on Ben’s retirement.