It came as something of a surprise when Ben Roethlisberger chose to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021 for his 18th NFL season. His center and longtime teammate Maurkice Pouncey had already retired and most assumed he wouldn’t be far behind.
But Roethlisberger threw everyone a curveball and opted to come back for one more year. A move Roethlisberger says wasn’t fully endorsed by the franchise. Roethlisberger spoke to Steelers writer Ron Cook and said the higher ups with the team didn’t all feel the same about him coming back.
“It was mostly Kevin [Colbert],” Roethlisberger said. “He was ready to move on. I think Mike [Tomlin] was a little ready to move on, but I think he was OK with me coming back. I think Mr. [Art] Rooney really wanted me to come back last year to play.”
"The Steelers will open training camp Tuesday without Roethlisberger for the first time in 18 years. Like just about everybody else in Pittsburgh, he’s eager to see who is going to replace him." https://t.co/fgvJp3RBz6
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) July 22, 2022
The Steelers won nine games in 2021 and in seven of those, the team counted on Roethlisberger to bring the team back in the fourth quarter. There’s no doubt the Steelers should have started preparing for life without Roethlisberger sooner but it’s hard to imagine anyone on the team didn’t want him back.
