5 reasons Steelers have already held onto Ben Roethlisberger too long

The Steelers have failed to meet expectations in recent years. Here’s why Pittsburgh has already held onto Ben Roethlisberger for too long. 

I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but I remember being one of the only writers who thought that the Steelers needed to trade Antonio Brown months before he sabotaged his trade value. Instead of parting ways with him when he could have netted the Steelers more than a first-round pick, Pittsburgh waited until it was too late. Now, they may have already done the same thing with Ben Roethlisberger.

While Big Ben doesn’t have a laundry list of off-the-field issues attached to his name (though he does have a bit of a checkered past), I was not a fan at all of giving him his last $91 million extensions that would see him sticking around until he is nearly 40 years old. Here are five reasons why the Steelers may have already held on to Ben Roethlisberger too long:

Decline in play

The first thing we can point to is the steady and consistent decline in play over the past several years. While his 2019 season was null and void after seeing the field for just a game-and-a-half, Roethlisberger’s numbers have dipped since the 2018 season – specifically his efficiency.

Though Ben did lead the league in passing yards three seasons ago, he also led in interceptions and interceptable passes. In addition, he hasn’t passed for more than 7.5 yards per attempt since the 2016 season and that number dipped to its lowest mark in his 17-year career in 2020 (6.6). Don’t let the 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio fool you, Ben was not efficient last year and the arrow is pointed down.