At no point during a nine-minute video conference call with media Wednesday did Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger say the name “Antonio Brown.” Nor did he say “Odell Beckham Jr.”

But Roethlisberger did touch on the demeanor of so-called “No. 1 receivers” in more general terms. And he expressed appreciation for a player he referred to as a “No. 1 receiver” on his own team who in recent weeks hasn’t necessarily been utilized as one by his own offense.

Roethlisberger gushed about the “selfless” attitude JuJu Smith-Schuster displayed in the wake of rookie receiver Chase Claypool’s big game. Of all the Steelers pass-catchers, Smith-Schuster has a resume most identified with that as a No. 1 receiver — and that is a designation Roethlisberger has at times had well-documented issues with navigating (see: Brown, Antonio).

“There’s definitely more to it than everyone understands,” Roethlisberger said when asked about keeping his skill-position talent happy. “Maybe someday I’ll write a book and talk about it. It’s not always easy. I feel for other quarterbacks sometimes.”

Roethlisberger perhaps has empathy for Baker Mayfield, whose Cleveland Browns face the Steelers on Sunday at Heinz Field. At times, Mayfield has worked to achieve a delicate relationship with Beckham, the Browns’ star receiver.

Smith-Schuster has a 111-catch, 1,426-yard season to his credit (2018), but through four games this season ranks only second on the Steelers in targets, catches, yards and touchdowns.

Smith-Schuster has not been the player who Roethlisberger has targeted the most during any game this season. The past two games, he ranked third in targets. On Sunday, Smith-Schuster had fewer touches than recent signee Ray-Ray McCloud (five to four) and was outproduced by Claypool. Claypool had four touchdowns, seven catches for 110 yards, three rushes and 11 targets. Smith-Schuster had four catches for 28 yards on five targets.

Perhaps calloused by the fiasco of Brown’s departure from the Steelers, Roethlisberger said he was wary of how Smith-Schuster might react in the postgame locker room Sunday.

“I looked over at JuJu to kind of see his reaction because he is our No. 1 receiver,” Roethlisberger said, “and he had the biggest smile on his face. … He was having fun with other guys. I just can’t say enough about him and what that meant to me and what that meant to other guys and how proud we are of him that he truly was happy for Chase. He was happy that we won the game.

“Did he have huge stats? No. But we won the game, and that’s all that matters.”

Roethlisberger said he was so impressed with Smith-Schuster’s attitude that he told his wife and closest friends about it.

“That just made me really proud and happy that we have selfless guys on this team that are more about the win than they are trying to get their stats,” Roethlisberger said. “I can’t say enough about JuJu and what that meant after the game.”

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