There is some speculation that Ben Roethlisberger could play for a team other than the Steelers next season. Could there be any truth to this?
Steelers fans will forever cherish Ben Roethlisberger for the two Super Bowls he helped bring to this team earlier in his career. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we know the clock is ticking on Big Ben’s career… or is it?
With a voidable-year contract and the fact that his play has been unspectacular this season, Pittsburgh seems likely to move on and find another signal-caller next season — either with a veteran or a rookie draft choice. But would any other teams be interested in picking up a 40-year-old Ben Roethlisberger?
Recently, Andrew Filipponi of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh stated that The Athletic made a claim that Roethlisberger could play for another team in 2022:
The Athletic. The website that employs awesome Steelers insiders like @EdBouchette and @MarkKaboly. Speculating this morning that Big Ben could play in 2022 for another team! Saints or even Seahawks if Russell Wilson is traded. WOW. pic.twitter.com/DOFhvfsY9u
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) November 18, 2021
It’s true that the Saints could be in need of a quarterback, and the Seahawks and Packers would obviously need a new face at the helm if they traded away their franchise signal-callers, I have a hard time believing there is any truth to this.
Who is going to want the Steelers leftovers?
At some point, your reputation will only get you so far. I believe that point will have come and gone for Ben Roethlisberger in 2022. Even if the 18-year veteran wants to continue playing professionally, there would have to be a team out there willing to give him a shot at being their starting QB, as Ben won’t settle for anything less.
Based on what we’ve seen since the second half of the 2020 season, I can’t imagine that there would be a team desperate enough to declare a 40-year-old Roethlisberger as their starting quarterback next season.
This isn’t a slight against Ben. Father Time catches up to everyone, but Roethlisberger’s age is really starting to show. He has already lost most of his mobility, and his arm strength is waning as time goes on. The Steelers quarterback has had immense struggles trying to consistently complete passes beyond 10 yards this season, and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for him to simply manage the game.
According to PlayerProfiler.com, Ben currently ranks 29th in yards per attempt, 32nd in air yards per attempt, 31st in deep-ball completion percentage, 27th in pressured completion percentage, 25th in clean pocket completion percentage, and 31st in true passer rating.
Despite these concerningly poor advanced statistics, this isn’t to say that there isn’t a team out there who wouldn’t give this a second thought. Stranger things have happened. After all, Joe Flacco is starting for the New York Jets this week.
Chances are, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to want to tarnish his legacy by going anywhere else and the Rooney’s will want him to retire with the Steelers. Unless his performance improves drastically down the stretch, I don’t think there will be teams interested in signing Big Ben next offseason.