During last weekend's 2018 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Martavis Bryant to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick.

The Raiders did a whole lot of moving and shaking over the weekend, so it was maybe not a surprise to see them swing such a deal, but once the Steelers didn't deal Bryant after he reportedly demanded a trade last season, it seemed like they might be content to hold onto him. There were reports leading up to the free-agency period that the Steelers were listening to offers for Bryant but not necessarily making calls on him, so it came as a surprise to some that they sent him out.

Among those surprised: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"When I heard about Martavis, I was like 'Oh, man.' I really enjoyed playing with Martavis," Roethlisberger said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think he was a great weapon, he helped our offense, did some great things by attracting attention and making plays for us. I was kind of caught off guard, but teams have reasons for doing things. I think part of it was him expressing trade things that we all heard so much about. I think he's probably pretty happy. For him and his family, if you're in a good happy place, then good for him."

Roethlisberger may have been surprised by this deal, but he'll also probably enjoy throwing to Bryant's ostensible replacement, second-round pick James Washington. He has many of the same skills as Bryant in terms of being able to stretch the defense down the field, and he's now under team control for several years longer than Bryant was likely to be. With Washington joining Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, Roethlisberger has the infrastructure around him to play for several more seasons -- which is exactly what he plans to do.

"I plan on playing for three to five more years," Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette. The Steelers would likely be just fine with that, even if it does delay their timeline of handing off the reins to third-round QB Mason Rudolph.