Pros and cons of Steelers potentially benching QB Ben Roethlisberger
By Tommy Jaggi
Pros of benching Ben Roethlisberger
The pros of benching Big Ben aren’t as good as they could have been if there had been a talented young passer waiting in the wings. However, it’s an option the Steelers shouldn’t automatically take off the table due to his future Hall of Fame status.
Roethlisberger hasn’t been able to muster up more than 17 offensive points in any given contest so far this season, and his team is averaging just 15.0 offensive points per contest (the 23-point game against the Bills included a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt). Because of this, we can assume that Mason Rudolph (or even Dwayne Haskins) could give the Steelers similar, or perhaps better production moving forward.
At the very least, the Steelers would be able to see what they have in their young quarterbacks. If Rudolph plays well, they could give him the 2022 season — or at least allow him to compete — until the next young quarterback takes over at the helm. If he plays very poorly, well then the Steelers will earn themselves a high draft choice in each round of the 2022 NFL Draft and will know without a shadow of a doubt that it’s time to move on.