4 questions Ben Roethlisberger has to answer before returning to Steelers

What are the long-term ramifications?

Given what he has done for the Steelers, Roethlisberger deserves to retire when he chooses to. That said, from an objective perspective, keeping him around for one more year is simply delaying the inevitable. When he retires, the team will be in for a few lean years as they try and get their next franchise quarterback. In addition, this defense is supremely talented, and Pittsburgh’s current offense has quite a few weapons. The team could have a quick turnaround potentially but keeping Roethlisberger for another season makes that less likely.

While keeping Roethlisberger around in 2021 makes the odds of finishing above .500 better, it also wastes another year of this talented defense. More players will leave, while everyone else gets older. The team likely won’t be in a position to draft a quarterback next year as well, meaning another year of mediocrity would have to happen before a high enough draft pick was obtained.

Again, Roethlisberger is clearly the best quarterback on the roster going into next year. That said, the team could benefit more in the long term from moving on from him. The Steelers could use the cap savings toward bringing back some of their free agents, and while the 2021 season would likely be a wash, Pittsburgh could prep for a rebound in 2022. Roethlisberger deserves to retire when he wants to, but long term, keeping him around for another season may not be the right move.

While it isn’t set in stone yet, the Steelers seem to be set on bringing Roethlisberger back for another season. Though he has brought a lot of success to the team, he does have a few questions that he must answer before the team can bring him back. This won’t be the same Steelers team next year. He and the team have to realize that as they figure out what to do next.