Pittsburgh Steelers make right move in extending Ben Roethlisberger?

By Brian Spaen | Mar 14, 2015

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been very quiet during the NFL’s free agent frenzy, but they finally made their biggest move when announcing a new deal with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. That likely will make him finish his career with the Steelers, but was it the right move for the team to make?

Team president Art Rooney II announced the new deal late Friday afternoon. No details were given with the exception that it was a five-year deal. Roethlisberger will be nearing 38 when this new contract is complete. Heading into 2015, the quarterback was entering the last year of his over $100 million contract.

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Rooney said that it was a priority to extend Roethlisberger, meaning that the first week of free agency ended successfully. Scott Brown of ESPN writes that a new deal was going to happen after a resurging 2014 campaign.

"Roethlisberger is playing the best football of his career, and if the Steelers needed any last reminder of why they signed him to a new five-year contract they got it when they passed the library on the way to the media room."

Indeed, Pittsburgh won a brutal AFC North last season thanks to Roethlisberger. They finished 11-5, ahead of Cincinnati (10-5-1), Baltimore (10-6), and Cleveland (7-9). No other division had more combined total wins.

Roethlisberger set career records. He had over 400 completions for the first time in his career, and was just 48 yards short of eclipsing the 5,000 passing yard mark. His 32 touchdowns tied the mark from his 2007 season, but had just 12 turnovers (nine interceptions, three fumbles) compared to 19 in 2007 (11 interceptions, eight fumbles). He also set a new mark in completion percentage (67.1 percent) and narrowly edged his best QB rating from 2007 at 72.5.

If it wasn’t for last season’s 11-5 finish and winning the AFC North, a new deal may not have been so cut-and-dry. While he hasn’t fallen off statistically, the team’s postseason success dwindled. Since losing to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV back in 2010, the Steelers have been 0-2 in January. They didn’t make an appearance prior to the 2014 season since 2011 when they lost to the Denver Broncos.

Considering Roethlisberger was 32 last season, the team could have considered looking at a quarterback for the future. They still might in the upcoming draft, but the team clearly thinks he has quite a few years left in the tank.

It’s a risk worth taking. There isn’t a wealth of quarterback talent around or coming into the league. Roethlisberger has 10 playoff wins under his belt, and he is overlooked when people list off great quarterbacks in the league. They’ll start with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and even Joe Flacco before hitting the Steelers QB — and that’s if they remember him.

Some consider him over the hill, but the stats say otherwise. Even prior to setting career records last season, his season completion percentage dipped below 60 percent just twice — 59.7 percent in 2006 and 59.9 percent in 2008 — and he’s never had less than 17 passing touchdowns at the end of a year.

Locking Roethlisberger up also gives the Steelers a chance to find a diamond in the rough. Landry Jones hasn’t had much time to show if he’s the future, but he’s learning behind one of the best quarterbacks. If Jones doesn’t work, perhaps they can take a quarterback in the later rounds that could emerge as the next guy.

Despite his age and less production in the postseason, sticking with Roethlisberger is the best bet for the team to have a chance winning another Super Bowl and to set themselves up for future success after retiring.

Next: Steelers standing pat during free agency again

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