Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger should call it a career
By Adam Patrick
With the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback now done for the remainder of the 2019 season due to an elbow injury, he should strongly consider just hanging up his cleats and retiring.
For the first time since 2009, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger entered this season without Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell as a teammate.
During their tenure together, the three of them turned the Steelers’ offense into one of the best units in the entire NFL. From 2014 to 2017 with Bell, Brown, and Roethlisberger leading the way, Pittsburgh’s offense finished among the 10 best in points and yardage each year.
Things are much different for the Steelers’ offense this season though. Bell is now with the New York Jets, Brown somehow slithered his way onto the New England Patriots’ roster, and Roethlisberger just found out he will miss the entire 2019 campaign due to an elbow injury.
This is easily the most devastating injury of the Pittsburgh quarterback’s career as he has never missed more than four games in a single-season since he entered the league in 2004.
Stepping in under center for the Steelers now will be Mason Rudolph, who the team selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State. Pittsburgh gets a great opportunity to figure out if Rudolph will be their quarterback of the future.
As the Steelers prepare for the remainder of their season with their young signal-caller, Roethlisberger should really be thinking long and hard about retirement. It’s been a good run for the talented Pittsburgh quarterback, but there are a few reasons why he should close the book on his playing career in the NFL this year.