Hines Ward is one of the greatest Steelers wide receivers of all time. He played from 1998-2011 and retired with 1,000 receptions, 85 touchdowns and two Super Bowl rings. He also mentored Antonio Brown, a 2010 Steelers' sixth-round pick, who most recently was seen in a heated discussion with his offensive coordinator during last Sunday's game against the Chiefs and then a day later no-showed for work.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Brown, who finally explained himself to reporters on Thursday, would be disciplined but the expectation is that one of the league's best wide receivers will be on the field when the Steelers face the Buccaneers on Monday night. Either way, Ward thinks Brown has fumbled the whole situation.

"I'm a little embarrassed," Ward told CBS Sports Radio's Zach Gelb on Saturday morning, "in the sense that that's not the Steelers culture. We're not really big on kind of having off-the-field issues with a lot of different guys. ... Listen, I understand he's a passionate guy and wants to win more than anybody in the world, but in this case I kind of think he's wrong for the outburst. When things aren't going good, a lot of people look at the leaders on your team ... They want to see how you respond to adversity. It's something that I wouldn't have done. I get it, you're frustrated. You want to win. But having outbursts like that doesn't do anybody any justice."

It's worth noting that in 2005, Ward skipped the first two weeks of training camp because he wanted a new deal. The Steelers finally relented, giving him a four-year, $25.8 million extension, and that team went on to win the Super Bowl. But years later, Ward wished he had handled it differently.

"The year that we won the Super Bowl, I held out that year," Ward told NFL Network in April 2017 shortly after Steelers chairman Dan Rooney passed away. "And I remember coming into training camp and [Rooney] was one of the first guys that I saw when I got into Pittsburgh, and coming out of that holdout. I apologized. I told him I never wanted to bring negative attention to our organization. It was a misunderstanding on my behalf, on behalf of my agent, and part of a miscommunication with the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Brown didn't hold out, of course, but he brought unwanted attention to a team that, two weeks into the season, is struggling. The Steelers blew a 14-point lead and tied the Browns in Week 1, then trailed 21-0 before losing 42-37 to the Chiefs in Week 2. Now they travel to Tampa Bay to face the league's second-most-explosive offense (after Kansas City's) led by Ryan Fitzpatrick.

"I would like for [Brown] to just focus on football, find a way to get this thing back on track in Pittsburgh," Ward told Gelb. "Like I said, it's all about winning football games, and that should be the main priority in all the players' careers."

Ward also reiterated a point that coach Mike Tomlin has touched before: "As athletes, when you respond to some of the stuff you see on social media, it's a lose-lose situation. Media take it and run with it. It's just a distraction you don't need."

As it stands, four of eight CBSSports.com experts think the Steelers will get their first win of the season on Monday night.