Ben Roethlisberger has officially announced his retirement, and former Pittsburgh Steelers teammates have no shortage of kind words for their quarterback.
I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now. Ben Roethlisberger went the entire 2021 season without coming out and saying that he was retiring… but we all knew what was happening. On the morning of January 27th, Big Ben officially announced his retirement from the NFL.
By doing so, Roethlisberger finished as the most productive quarterback in Pittsburgh Steelers history — nearly doubling Terry Bradshaw in every major passing category. Ben also brought this city an additional two Super Bowl wins and 165 victories over the past 18 years, according to Pro Football Reference.
After his retirement was official, the Steelers released a video to their Twitter account that included heartfelt messages to Roethlisberger sent by former teammates Brett Keisel, Vance McDonald, Alan Faneca, Heath Miller, Max Starks, James Harrison, and several others.
Try to watch this without tearing up. I dare you!
A message from some of @_BigBen7's teammates:#ThankYou7 pic.twitter.com/dagd6icsqt
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 27, 2022
It’s in these moments that Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement has really hit me. This is it. Never again will we see ‘number 7’ trot out onto the Heinz Field with his hands pointed to the sky (and this is a number that won’t be handed out again).
Ben’s former teammates poured out their gratitude and it was easy to see the sincerity on their faces as they wished their former quarterback good luck in his retirement. While his teammates all praised his accomplishments on the field, they seemed even happier for Ben because of the person he has become over the years.
It’s clear that Ben Roethlisberger played a huge role in the lives of many around him. (That will happen when you’ve been on one football team for 18 years).
Roethlisberger’s time has come to hang up his cleats one last time, but there’s no question fans are going to miss him. Years from now, Pittsburgh Steelers fans who had the pleasure of watching him will get together and reminisce about all the great moments and spectacular memories he has left us with during his time on the football field.