The Steelers will be without Ben Roethlisberger for the first time since his 2004 rookie season this year. The franchise legend retired after the 2021–22 season.
It’s a new era of Pittsburgh football, and the former quarterback recently spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to discuss how retirement has treated him thus far.
The 2021 season was the 40-year-old’s farewell tour, and Roethlisberger admitted in his interview that key members of team management were divided on bringing him back for his final season. General manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin were the ones Roethlisberger said were ready for a change after the 2020 season.
Steelers owner Art Rooney, however, wasn’t quite ready for the quarterback to leave after 2020, so they compromised on the ’21 season. Ultimately, though, it was up to “Big Ben” to decide when to end his NFL career.
“It was mostly Kevin. He was ready to move on,” Roethlisberger said. “I think Mike 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.”
“I thought I went out on my terms,” Roethlisberger continued. “I never wanted to stay too long. I know some people might think I did. ‘You stayed last year.’ But I thought I played pretty well last year, to be honest. My arm feels like I still could go out and play. I’m pretty confident I could still play. But it’s every day. It’s mental. Not having to prepare for camp and the season has been the biggest blessing for me. I’m fine with where I’m at with everything.”
As Roethlisberger prepares to watch his former team from his couch this season, the Steelers still haven’t named their official replacement for Roethlisberger. They picked up Mitch Trubisky out of Buffalo on a two-year deal and drafted Kenny Pickett out of Pittsburgh in the first round of the draft.
Various NFL experts have said that Trubisky will most likely get the starting job at the beginning of the season.
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