Don’t plan on Ben Roethlisberger retiring anytime soon.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback told reporters after Sunday’s divisional-round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars he intends to return for the 2018 NFL season. And according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger told teammates he’ll be sticking around even longer than that.
Roethlisberger reportedly has revealed to his teammates he plans to play at least another three seasons. This revelation should throw cold water on the retirement chatter that heated up at points in 2017, including back in October when the 35-year-old said (perhaps sarcastically) “maybe I don’t have it anymore” after a five-interception performance against Jacksonville.
Of course, there’s still a chance — there’s always a chance — the Steelers draft a quarterback early this year and start to lay the groundwork for finding Roethlisberger’s successor, much like the New England Patriots did with Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014 before trading him to the San Francisco 49ers earlier this season amid Tom Brady’s continued success. But Pittsburgh selected quarterback Josh Dobbs in the fourth round last season, and it’s now more likely the Steelers use their early-round picks to shore up other areas if they know Big Ben will be sticking around for a while.
Roethlisberger is coming off a 2017 season in which he threw for 4,251 yards with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 15 games. The two-time Super Bowl champion will turn 36 in March.
