Ben Roethlisberger is done for the year after suffering a serious elbow injury and many have speculated that this could ultimately end his career. But, Big Ben, who turns 38 in March, says that won’t be the case. 
[RELATED: Big Ben Done For Year]
“The Steelers committed three years to me this offseason and I fully intend to honor my contract and reward them with championship-level play,” he said (via ESPN.com).
Thanks to his three-year, $80MM extension, Big Ben is under contract through the 2021 season. Before the injury, the buzz was centered on whether Roethlisberger would, or would not, play beyond ’21. Many doubt that Big Ben can bounce back and play next season, but both the quarterback and head coach Mike Tomlin believe he will.
“He fully intends to come back from his injury, and everything we’ve heard, we’re comfortable that’s a strong possibility,” Tomlin said.
For now, the Steelers will turn to Mason Rudolph with the newly-promoted Devlin Hodges as his backup.
It would be interesting what the Steelers do if Rudolph plays well and Ben wants to come back. It would be tough to bench Rudolph in that case.
Hannibal8us,
Tough to bench Rudolph common now are you serious?
How many Rings does Ben have? and hes a gauranteed Hall of Famer. He wants to come back Pittsburgh will certainly let him. Hes a great qb!
They never should have re-signed him. I thought it was time to move on from him, AB, & Bell. An old beat up QB is what he is. Great career, on field, but at 35+ not many QB’s are successful.
What is the official diagnosis for his elbow? Does he require Tommy John surgery?
No one is talking about the specific injury. Just that he needs surgery. With pitchers they don’t always know the extent until the surgeon is in the elbow.
Time has run up on Big Ben. 12-month to 18-month recovery = retirement.
One thing is for sure, Big Ben will stick around until he’s paid in full. Alex Smith did the same in Washington. Large guaranteed contracts to veteran quarterbacks is turning out – surprise, surprise – to be a huge problem for the clubs that sign those deals. Look for more thirty-three and older quarterbacks to be signed on two year, non-guaranteed deals soon. Perhaps a higher per year cost but a much lower overall guarantee figure.
Why wouldn’t he stick around? Would you just give back 80mil?
Don’t kid yourself Ben. Just go away quietly and have a good retirement
Is that a threat? **women in bars everywhere**