The Pittsburgh Steelers got every ounce of football left out of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger before he retired in January 2022. The then 39-year-old had played in 249 games, starting in 247, amassing 64,088 passing yards and 418 touchdowns through the air. The two-time Super Bowl champion led the league in passing yards twice, including in 2018 as a 36-year-old. But as Rocky Balboa said in the 2015 film Creed, "Time takes everybody out; time’s undefeated,” and one NFL analyst believes that Roethlisberger's time was up before his retirement.
Charles LeClaire / USA Today
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put together 41 4th-quarter comebacks in his storied career.
Marc Ross works for NFL.com, but before he was there, he spent time on staff as an executive with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He joined Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Brian Batko on the Chipped Ham and Football Podcast to discuss the state of the Steelers following the team's 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans. Ross said that largely the issues going on today stem from holding on to their future Hall of Fame quarterback.
"When someone has been somewhere so long, something new and innovative needs to happen," he said. "I think it was indicative a few years later with the Roethlisberger situation and trying to hang on to Ben too long. Pittsburgh fans were split and divided, but clearly to me, Ben was done."
Ross has experience with a franchise trying to get the last of what's left from a franchise signal-caller. Eli Manning was taken 10 spots ahead of Roethlisberger in 2004 with the first-overall pick by the then-San Diego Chargers and subsequently traded to the Giants for Philip Rivers.
Ross said that when your franchise guy starts looking like he doesn't have it anymore, it starts a lot of finger-pointing around an organization because clearly, the franchise guy can't be the problem. He added that once the wheels are off though, it's time to move on.
Julio Cortez / The Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons (94) sacks New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Ross left the Giants in 2017, so he wasn't there when the Giants did make a change in the 2019 season. After Manning started the season with one win and three losses while throwing six touchdowns and five interceptions, the coaching staff decided to see what they had in their 2019 first-round draft pick, Daniel Jones.
He said that an organization needs to have a plan in place when they have an aging franchise quarterback and to him, it was clear that Pittsburgh didn't have a clear strategy to find Roethlisberger's successor.
Steelers Panic Picked Kenny Pickett, According To Ross
The 2022 quarterback class wasn't exactly the most star-studded group, but after Roethlisberger's retirement, it felt like Pittsburgh needed to take a signal-caller. Ross said that he understands the reasoning behind why Pickett was picked, but is not a fan of the process that led to it.
JORDAN SCHOFIELD / STEELERNATION (TWITTER / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers quarterbacks Kenny Pickett (8) and Mason Rudolph (2) have both been pegged at different times as the replacements for Ben Roethlisberger.
Ross sees the decision to take Pickett as a one that was rushed, which is never good for a professional sports franchise. He sees a huge flaw in the approach the team took to replacing their offensive leader.
"They were not thinking forward about moving on and getting better at the position," he said. "Did that rush them into, 'We've got to take a quarterback now in [Kenny] Pickett?' I didn't think he was a legitimate first-round quarterback or a guy who's going to be a franchise quarterback who is going to win games for you on a consistent basis."
Ross said even if the organization decides to move off from Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, Pickett might not magically become what Steeler Nation wants him to be. He said it is on franchise quarterbacks to make plays no matter who is calling them or what the scheme is.
He said ultimately, it is on them to consistently string together big-time plays, while also efficiently running the offense. Pickett has glimpses of big-time plays, like his 72-yard touchdown pass against the Las Vegas Raiders to Calvin Austin III, but so far in 2023, he and the offense are lacking in consistency.
Do you think the Steelers should've moved on from Roethlisberger earlier? Do you think Pickett can still be a franchise quarterback? Comment below!
#SteelerNation
