The only constant in life is change. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, change happens far less often than for most teams in the NFL. Since 1969, the Steelers have had three head coaches. They replaced Chuck Noll with Bill Cowher then have had Mike Tomlin at the helm since 2007.
Pittsburgh has also had quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leading the offense on the field since he was drafted in 2004.
To no one’s surprise, that is likely to be changing for the 2022 season.
According to a report from ESPN, Roethlisberger has told friends that this is his last season playing for the Steelers. While the report goes on to say that he does not plan to play for another franchise, it isn’t ruled out:
Roethlisberger has told many that he never would want to play anywhere other than Pittsburgh. It doesn’t mean he couldn’t surface next season in another NFL city, but that is “highly unlikely,” according to one source.
The Ohio native has been a thorn in the side of the Cleveland franchise since the team passed him over to draft TE Kellen Winslow.
Roethlisberger’s play on the field has diminished greatly over the last couple of seasons due to age and injury. In the playoffs last year, he threw four interceptions to the Browns but also led a furious comeback with 501 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Cleveland is scheduled to have one more game against Big Ben in both teams’ second to last game of the 2021 season.