Steelers legendary QB Ben Roethlisberger officially retires from the NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers got a truly amazing 18-year career out of Ben Roethlisberger, but the legendary quarterback has officially announced his retirement from football. 

Somehow, it really doesn’t hit you until it’s official. We knew this moment was coming for a long time now. In fact, many thought that this was bound to happen last offseason. It was very clear that Ben Roethlisberger was not going to be returning for another season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but now that news is official.

On January 27th, Roethlisberger released a video from his BigBen7.com Twitter account with a short two-minute retirement video. Needless to say, I’m emotional all over again:

With this announcement, Roethlisberger officially finishes his NFL career with 64,088 passing yards, 418 touchdowns, 211 interceptions, and a 93.5 passer rating, according to Pro Football Reference. He also led his team to a very impressive record of 165-81-1 during this time. Just this year, he passed Philip Rivers to move into 5th place on the all-time passing list.

Most importantly, Big Ben brought this city two more Super Bowl victories and countless competitive seasons. Over nearly the past two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most successful franchises in football, and Roethlisberger was a major part of that.

A hard moment for Steelers fans

I’ve been as hard on Ben Roethlisberger as anyone. I didn’t agree with the Steelers when they paid him for past production by making him one of the richest players in the NFL in 2019, and these past few seasons have been really rough on the offensive side of the football.

Regardless of his most recent play, I couldn’t be more appreciative of the career that Roethlisberger had and the championships he brought this team. Though he was never considered the greatest players at his position in an era of all-time great quarterbacks, Ben will go down as one of the greatest Steelers to ever wear the black and gold.

It’s going to be very different next fall when the team is running out of the tunnel and Roethlisberger is no longer with them. I’m sure at that point, reality will set in once again, but today is hard enough for Steelers fans.

Ben Roethlisberger has been leading this team years before I even graduated high school, and it’s going to be hard for fans moving forward without him at the helm. He will be cherished for his legendary career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thank you, Ben!