Who Would You Trade Ben Roethlisberger For?

Yesterday was a great day in Steelers Nation when it was announced that Ben Roethlisberger would be staying in Pittsburgh for at least the next five seasons. It is a well deserved contract considering Ben Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls with the Steelers and at 33 years old he is coming off one of his best statistical seasons of his career. So now that Big Ben is hopefully going to finish his career in black in yellow, why not have a little hypothetical question about who you would trade Ben Roethlisberger for?

I’m going to limit the conversation to only quarterbacks since it truly is the most valuable position in football. I feel so bad for teams like the New York Jets or Cleveland Browns. They can add all the free agents they want to give their fans some hope but at the end of the day they don’t have a quarterback to take them anywhere. Seriously though, when is the last time a mediocre quarterback won a Super Bowl? Brad Johnson in 2002 with the Buccaneers or Trent Dilfer with the 2000 Ravens, and before you jump on me for Joe Flacco in 2012, he was phenomenal during that playoff run. Anyways back to the original premise.

Let’s start with the people I wouldn’t even consider trading Big Ben for. Peyton Manning. Too old, and probably damaged goods. Tom Brady. I almost threw up even imagining him wearing a Steelers jersey, plus he’s old also. Drew Brees. He’s kind of getting old at 36, plus he isn’t off his best season and at only 6’0″ he might get crushed behind the Steelers offensive line. Russell Wilson. I’m not sure how great he is. I think the team around him is amazing but once Marshawn Lynch leaves town and the defense starts to lose some pieces he might not be that awesome.

The question really comes down to two people. Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck. Not that either the Packers or the Colts would consider trading these guys, it is an interesting idea. My only question about Aaron Rodgers is would he survive being the Steelers quarterback? Rodgers does get sacked quite a bit in Green Bay and he has only played 16 games four times during his seven years of starting. He is also going to turn 32 this year so he isn’t that much younger than Big Ben. The real reason I wouldn’t want this trade to happen is because of what happened in Super Bowl 45. I’ve tried my best to forget that game but I still remember Rodgers winning the Super Bowl over Big Ben.

As for Andrew Luck, who is 25 years old and by most accounts is on his way to being the next great quarterback, it’s hard to argue why you wouldn’t want him. He is big, strong, and smart. He was won 11 games in all three of seasons despite his team not being that great. The only issue is his interception rate. Last year he threw 16 during the regular season, which isn’t horrible but in six career playoff games he has thrown 12 picks. All I can remember about the AFC Championship was bad throws and interceptions when the Colts had the ball.

The correct answer is nobody. Big Ben is the perfect Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. Tough, big, strong, and really good. I know Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls, but Ben Roethlisberger is the best Steelers quarterback of all-time and it isn’t even close.

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