It was only five years ago when the Steelers came to Philadelphia in Week 3 of the 2016 season and were embarrassed by the Eagles, 34-3, and their rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz.
Wentz, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers and became the first rookie quarterback in Eagles history to start a season 3-0. The performance so whipped the denizens of Philadelphia into a frenzy, they were ready to start pouring the mortar to erect a statue of Wentz next to Rocky Balboa.
Five years later, Wentz is gone from the Eagles, his career never recovering from the slide that began, strangely enough, after the blowout performance against the Steelers. Such flameouts and quick departures are becoming more prevalent around the National Football League. Just consider the staggering number of quarterbacks who were top draft picks who have failed to remain for any length of time with the team that drafted them.
In the past eight years, only seven of the 20 quarterbacks selected in the first round are with the team that drafted them. That number becomes increasingly embarrassing when you consider none of the nine quarterbacks who were first-round picks from 2013 to 2016 are with the same team. Wentz's class is a prime example. All three No. 1 picks in 2016 — Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch are the others — have moved on from the teams that selected them.
All this does is highlight the incredible production and longevity of Ben Roethlisberger, who begins his 18th season with the same team that drafted him in 2004 — the longest tenure of any quarterback in NFL history.
When the regular season begins in September, Roethlisberger will surpass Dan Marino, who played all 17 of his seasons with the Miami Dolphins; and John Brodie, who played all 17 years with the San Francisco 49ers. He has already passed six other quarterbacks who spent their entire 16-year career with just one team — John Elway in Denver, Ken Anderson in Cincinnati, Bart Starr and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, Steve Grogan in New England and Eli Manning with the New York Giants.
Philip Rivers spent 16 years with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, but he played his final season in Indianapolis in 2020. Tom Brady, who spent 20 seasons in New England, is the only quarterback in history to spend more seasons with one team than Roethlisberger, but even his remarkable career is ending in another city.
Think about it: No quarterback in history has played his entire career with one team longer than Ben Roethlisberger. In a league where some top quarterbacks flop and get the heave-ho, Roethlisberger has placed himself in a category that is both elite and beyond reproach.
