All signs are pointing to Ben Roethlisberger returning as the starting quarterback of the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021. Based on how “Big Ben” and the Steelers finished in 2020, that could be good news for the Cleveland Browns.
Roethlisberger had been pondering his future, but he appears ready to roll once again. The Steelers did pick up 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins this offseason after Haskins quickly flushed out of Washington, but he’ll stick behind Roethlisberger on the Pittsburgh depth chart in 2021.
This report from the NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, who spoke with Roethlisberger’s agent, makes it pretty darn clear the 39-year-old (on March 2nd) will be back in the Pittsburgh saddle for a 17th season,
Ben Roethlisberger will indeed be back as the #Steelers starting QB this fall. Just connected w/ the two-time Super Bowl winner’s agent, Ryan Tollner, who said this: pic.twitter.com/YnWRWwkbeM
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 23, 2021
Roethlisberger played well in the early part of 2020 but tailed off considerably as the season bore on. He threw for over 500 yards in the Steelers’ wild-card loss to the Browns but also threw four interceptions and didn’t even try to recover the snap over his head on the opening play of the game.
Browns take
Roethlisberger is the most likely Steelers quarterback to lead the team to any sort of relevance in 2021, but with two offensive linemen retiring and his physical condition continuing to deteriorate, the end is coming soon. Perhaps very soon. The Browns shouldn’t worry about who is behind them, it’s who is ahead of them that matters.
