Ben Roethlisberger - Pro Football Rumors

Steelers Expect Ben Roethlisberger To Return

January 31st, 2017 at 4:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Although quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hinted last week that he may have thrown his last NFL pass, Steelers president Art Rooney II expects the five-time Pro Bowler to return in 2017.

“I talked to Ben and we had a good conversation,” Rooney told reporters, including Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, on Tuesday. “I think he’s at that stage in his career that those are thought I think you have. I personally expect that he’ll be back, but that’s going to be his decision.”

With the offseason approaching, the Steelers unsurprisingly want an answer from the 34-year-old Roethlisberger sooner than later, per Rooney, who noted that “if he decided to retire, that would modify our plans greatly.” Even if Roethlisberger comes back for a 14th year, the Steelers seem intent on drafting a quarterback – something they haven’t done since they selected pending free agent Landry Jones in the fourth round in 2013.

“In terms of just going forward, look, I think the quarterback position is a position you have to make sure you have some depth there, and we haven’t drafted a quarterback for several years, and we’re probably due to look at the position,” stated Rooney.

Pittsburgh is slated to pick seven times – including 30th overall – in this year’s draft, which might feature one of the worst quarterback classes in recent memory. But regardless of who lines up under center for the Steelers in the coming years, he’ll likely have superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown in the fold as his No. 1 target. While Brown has caused some issues behind the scenes, the four-time 100-catch man is “certainly a player that we would like to have on the team for a while,” per Rooney. Brown is scheduled to enter a contract year, but the Steelers could make him the league’s highest-paid wideout via an extension sometime this offseason.

AFC Notes: Cousins, Jets, Steelers, Bengals

January 24th, 2017 at 3:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets’ decision to hire Todd Bowles as their head coach instead of Dan Quinn in 2015 may have cost them a chance to acquire then-backup quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Redskins, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Quinn’s offensive coordinator in Atlanta, Kyle Shanahan, would have come with him to New York but would not have wanted to work with Geno Smith, sources told Mehta. Shanahan would have pushed to acquire Cousins, whom he knew from their time together in Washington in 2012. A big Cousins fan, Shanahan was reportedly “integral” in the Redskins’ drafting of the ex-Michigan State signal-caller. Along with Shanahan, Quinn would have brought former Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik with him to work in the Jets’ front office. Dominik is close with Redskins president Bruce Allen, and their friendship could have further helped lead the way to a Cousins trade, writes Mehta.

As we ponder what could have been, here’s more from New York and a few other AFC cities:

While Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is considering retirement, it will be a surprise if the 13th-year man doesn’t return in 2017, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In the seemingly likely event Roethlisberger does come back for his age-35 season, the Steelers should still give serious thought to using a high-round pick on a potential successor, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The Jets’ previously reported interest in Saints wide receivers coach John Morton has already led to an interview. The two sides met Tuesday, and Morton remains in the running for the job, reports Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.
It appeared the NFL had lifted running back Karlos Williams‘ 10-game suspension when the Steelers brought him back on a reserve/futures deal Monday, but that’s not the case. Williams still has one game remaining on the substance abuse-related ban the league handed him in November, tweets Fowler. He’ll be eligible to take the field again in Week 2 of next season.
The belief is that the Bengals are talking to pending free agent kicker Randy Bullock about a new contract, writes Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. Re-signing Bullock wouldn’t stop the Bengals from searching for other options at the position, notes Hobson. The 27-year-old Bullock didn’t join the Bengals until mid-December, when they claimed him off waivers from division-rival Pittsburgh after releasing Mike Nugent. Bullock, who was a member of three teams in 2016 (the Giants were the other), connected on 5 of 6 field goal tries and all six extra points in three games with Cincinnati.
The Broncos made a minor change to their Vance Joseph-led staff Tuesday, promoting special teams quality control coach Chris Gould to assistant special teams coach. They’re also set to retain Klint Kubiak, the son of previous Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, as their offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post.

Ben Roethlisberger Mulling Retirement

January 24th, 2017 at 10:55am CST by Connor J. Byrne

There is a chance that Pittsburgh’s 36-17 loss to New England in Sunday’s AFC title game will go down as the final contest of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s career. In an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger was unwilling to commit to returning in 2017 for what would be his age-35 season.

“I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options,” he said (via CBS Pittsburgh). “To consider health, and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there’s going to be a next season.”

This isn’t the first time Roethlisberger has told Mike Tomlin he’s contemplated retirement after a season, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Tomlin, though, said he’s taking this seriously but isn’t alarmed or surprised by the indecision, Bouchette relays (Twitter links).

If there isn’t a next season for Roethlisberger, it would heavily affect the Steelers and the rest of the NFL, of course. Pittsburgh has regularly been a league superpower since it drafted Roethlisberger 11th overall in 2004, having finished with no fewer than eight wins during any of his 13 seasons and gone to the playoffs nine times. Two of those postseason trips have culminated in Super Bowl victories, the latest of which came at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign.

Roethlisberger has missed a combined six games because of injuries over the past two seasons, but his production has remained strong. He’s now fresh off his fifth Pro Bowl season, in which he completed 64.4 percent of his 509 passing attempts, amassed 3,819 yards on 7.5 YPA, and tossed 29 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.

In the two games Roethlisberger sat out in 2016, the Steelers turned to backup Landry Jones, who has been a mixed bag in 15 career appearances and also isn’t guaranteed to return to the club next season. Unlike Roethlisberger, Jones is set to become a free agent. Roethlisberger has three years remaining on the contract extension he signed in 2015. He’d owe the Steelers $18.6MM if he were to walk away, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap (Twitter link), which makes an early exit seem unlikely.

AFC Notes: Fins, Ben, Bills, Broncos, Erving

November 5th, 2016 at 9:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins have defeated winning teams in each of their past two games and are responding to the Adam Gase-led coaching staff more than their group of leaders last season, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes.

Miami’s roster has been more receptive to coaching from this staff after many resisted instruction from the Joe Philbin– and Dan Campbell-led staffs last season, per Salguero, who adds the team’s highest-paid player has fallen in line more in his second season in south Florida.

During his first, “very few people in the building” liked Ndamukong Suh, writes Salguero, who characterizes the standout defensive tackle as not buying into Philbin or Kevin Coyle in leadership positions. This season, Suh’s been living up to his $19MM-AAV price tag, with 3.5 sacks through seven games, rating as Pro Football Focus’ No. 5 interior defender. The Dolphins remain 3-4, though, with a No. 20-ranked defense. They have an uphill battle if they’re going to contend for a playoff spot in Gase’s first season, even if they’ve created some rare momentum.

Here’s more from the AFC, beginning with a team whose momentum the Dolphins stunted.

Fantasy owners of Ben Roethlisberger or the Steelers‘ Big Ben-dependent skill-position contingent will need to stay on top of his status going into Week 9, with Adam Schefter reporting (via Twitter) the Steelers haven’t decided if Roethlisberger or Landry Jones will get the call against the Ravens. The 34-year-old passer is less than three weeks removed from meniscus surgery, and another Roethlisberger absence could sink the Steelers to .500 after they looked like one of the league’s most dangerous teams prior to his injury.
The Bills remain confident LeSean McCoy and Percy Harvin will play against the Seahawks on Monday night. However, Marcell Dareus will miss the game due to the groin injury he suffered against the Patriots, the team announced. Dareus has played in just one game for the Bills this season.
Harvin’s unretirement will net him $825K for the rest of the season, Tom Pelissero reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old slot target will also earn $22.5K in game-day roster bonuses. Harvin made $6MM for the Bills last season.
In addition to Aqib Talib being set to miss Sunday night’s Broncos-Raiders tilt, Denver dime back Kayvon Webster will be out as well, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post tweets. Functioning as the No. 4 corner for a third straight season, Webster injured his hamstring against the Chargers, leaving the Broncos with three healthy corners on their active roster who have played in a game this season. The defending champions did add Taurean Nixon from their practice squad earlier today.
Free to use this year as an observational campaign now that they’re 0-8, the Browns are considering moving Cameron Erving from center to tackle, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. PFF rates Erving as its worst center among the 34 qualifying as full-time snappers. Hue Jackson intends to keep trying the 2015 first-rounder at center but acknowledged a position change could be in the cards, with Ulrich noting tackle would be the move. The 6-foot-6 Erving started at left tackle for two full seasons at Florida State before moving to center during his senior year in 2014. Cleveland obviously has Joe Thomas at left tackle and opted not to trade him again, but Thomas turns 32 this offseason and will continue to see his trade value diminish as he ages. The Browns have Austin Pasztor at right tackle.
Although he sees the Jets making a big move this coming offseason regardless of what transpires down the stretch (Twitter link), ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini does not see the team pulling an about-face and rekindling Muhammad Wilkerson trade talks. Cimini agrees with Sheldon Richardson, who categorized himself as the defensive line’s “odd man out” earlier this week.

Ben Roethlisberger Likely To Start Sunday

November 3rd, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

It appears the torn meniscus that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered in the team’s 30-15 loss to the Dolphins in Week 6 will only end up costing him one start. Barring a setback, Roethlisberger is on track to reclaim his place in the Steelers’ lineup Sunday against the Ravens, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

After Roethlisberger and backup Landry Jones shared snaps in practice Thursday, offensive coordinator Todd Haley said the former “looked good out there.” That’s obviously welcome news for the Steelers, who were confident Roethlisberger wouldn’t miss much time after he underwent surgery Oct. 17. The 34-year-old had already tossed 16 touchdowns against six interceptions when he succumbed to injury, also completing over 64 percent of his passes for 1,685 yards.

In the Steelers’ one full game without Roethlisberger, a 27-16 defeat to the Patriots on Oct. 23, Jones completed 29 of 47 passes for 281 yards, a touchdown and an pick in place of the four-time Pro Bowler. The Steelers then had a bye last week. Their upcoming opponent, AFC North rival Baltimore, has lost four straight after beginning the year 3-0. The Steelers are also slumping, having followed a 4-1 start with back-to-back losses, but the return of Roethlisberger bodes well for their chances of picking up win No. 5.

Latest On Ben Roethlisberger

October 30th, 2016 at 9:54am CST by Rory Parks

Ben Roethlisberger exited the Steelers’ contest against the Dolphins two weeks ago with a left knee injury, and he subsequently underwent arthroscopic surgery on that knee. There were conflicting reports as to when Big Ben would return to game action, with ESPN’s Chris Mortensen indicating that Roethlisberger would miss 4-6 weeks and CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reporting that he could be ready for the team’s Week 9 matchup against Baltimore.

Another week has gone by, but we still do not have much clarity on the situation. La Canfora continues to stand by his initial report and says that Roethlisberger will suit up for the team’s pivotal showdown with the Ravens, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter is less optimistic.

Per Schefter, one source close to the situation said, “Ben always puts a premium on the Ravens game, but it’s awfully early. I’d be nervous about it. It could be Dallas [in Week 10] or even the week after. I would guess we’re still a few weeks out.”

Given the nature of the injury, and the fact that Roethlisberger still hadn’t gotten his stitches from the surgery removed as of last week, it seems as if Schefter’s report may be more accurate that La Canfora’s.

Ben Roethlisberger To Miss Just One Game?

October 23rd, 2016 at 9:27am CST by Zachary Links

SUNDAY, 9:27am: Contrary to Mortensen’s report, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that while Roethlisberger has been ruled out for today’s game against the Patriots, he could be back to face Baltimore in Week 9 following Pittsburgh’s Week 8 bye. Indeed, team officials are optimistic he could face the Ravens and would be surprised if Roethlisberger missed more than two games, barring an unforeseen setback. The Steelers do not plan to work out additional quarterbacks or acquire a veteran, which suggests that they do expect Big Ben to return sooner rather than later.

WEDNESDAY, 10:38am: Ben Roethlisberger will be out for a little while longer than anticipated. The Steelers quarterback’s post-surgery outlook has shifted from 2-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (Twitter link).

Roethlisberger underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee earlier this week. While Roethlisberger is out, the Steelers will turn to backup Landry Jones as their starter. Jones did alright in two games last season when he had to fill in for Big Ben, but the offense obviously won’t be the same without No. 7.

Roethlisberger, a future Hall of Famer, has thrown for 1,685 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns this season. The 34-year-old turned in 16-game seasons in 2013 and 14 but missed at least one in each of Pittsburgh’s previous four campaigns. Last year, knee and shoulder troubles cost him one-quarter of the regular season.

The Steelers take on the Patriots next week before entering a bye week. Then, they’ll face the Ravens, Cowboys, and Browns – likely without their star quarterback in the lineup.

Latest On Ben Roethlisberger

October 17th, 2016 at 1:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers released a statement moments ago confirming that Ben Roethlisberger underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The team does not yet have a timetable for his return, but they are “confident this injury is not long-term.”

Big Ben gave fans a big scare on Sunday when he went down with a knee injury early on against the Dolphins. Even though he returned to action in that game, he’ll need some time to recover before he can play again. While Roethlisberger is out, the Steelers will turn to Landry Jones as their starter. The Steelers went 1-1 in Jones’ two starts last season and they’re hoping that they’ll be able to get by for however long No. 7 is out.

Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,685 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns this season.

Ben Roethlisberger Has Torn Meniscus

October 16th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ben Roethlisberger suffered a torn left meniscus in the Steelers’ Week 6 loss to the Dolphins and will undergo surgery Monday, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (on Twitter).

Cook reports (Twitter link) Landry Jones will start next week, as Roethlisberger now must deal with a significant knee injury for the second straight season. He returned to action in Miami after missing most of the second quarter. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirmed Cook’s report and tweets the veteran quarterback will miss the Steelers’ Week 7 tilt against the Patriots, but the passer’s timetable is uncertain beyond that.

Roethlisberger missed four games last season due to an MCL sprain. The 34-year-old future Hall of Famer played two straight 16-game seasons in 2013-14 but missed at least one in each of Pittsburgh’s previous four campaigns. He battled knee and shoulder injuries last season, limiting the Steelers.

Pittsburgh finished 1-1 in Jones’ two starts last season. The former Oklahoma signal-caller completed 58 percent of his passes, threw for 513 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s the next in line now after the Steelers opted not to bring back Michael Vick. They also released Bruce Gradkowski, who suffered a torn hamstring during preseason play, earlier this month.

Now in his 13th season, Roethlisberger had guided the Steelers to four wins and thrown for 1,685 yards this season. His 16 touchdown passes lead the league.

Steelers Notes: Haley, Bell, A. Brown, Ben

January 28th, 2016 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (hat tip to Pro Football Talk), Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley is believed to have told people he wasn’t interested in any head coaching jobs this year. Haley was identified as a potential candidate for the Dolphins early in their search process, but his name didn’t surface after that for any openings around the league, and Bouchette’s note helps to explain why.

Bouchette and Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review each passed along several more Steelers-related items today from team president and co-owner Art Rooney II, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

The Steelers are optimistic that Le’Veon Bell will fully recover from his torn MCL and still view the running back as a difference-making player. Bell is under contract for one more year, and Rooney isn’t sure if Pittsburgh will explore an extension now or later, but the team has him in its long-term plans (all Twitter links via Kaboly).
The Steelers will likely address Antonio Brown‘s contract “as the offseason goes on,” though Rooney didn’t go into specifics, and said the team will have to be “cautious” when considering a restructure or extension for the star wideout (Twitter links via Kaboly).
Although he acknowledged that the team still has some work to do, Rooney said the Steelers’ cap situation is “manageable,”and should allow the club to be “maybe a little better” at going after free agents (Twitter links via Bouchette).
Rooney identified pass defense as an area that the Steelers will focus on this offseason, so the team figures to keep a close eye on defensive backs in free agency and the draft (Twitter link via Kaboly).
It doesn’t sound like the Steelers will draft Ben Roethlisberger‘s eventual successor this year. Rooney said today that there’s not much sign of Roethlisberger falling off, so the club won’t start down that road yet (Twitter link via Bouchette).