Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger believes he can play up to 5 more years

The Pittsburgh Steelers addressed the quarterback position in the 2018 NFL Draft. The team selected Mason Rudolph out of Oklahoma State with the 76th overall pick meaning they may view him as veteran Ben Roethlisberger’s eventual successor in Pittsburgh.

However, despite being on the fence about retirement over the last few years, Roethlisberger appears to be interested in playing as much as another half-decade in the NFL, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Well, that’s fine. He can do that,” Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette on Tuesday about the rookie someday taking over as the Steelers starting quarterback. “But I plan on playing for three to five more years. Depending on how the line goes and staying healthy, if I can stay healthy.

“If he’s going to be their guy, that’s great, but in my perfect world it’s not going to be for a while.”

Super Bowl Futures

Roethlisberger isn’t ready to call it a career. In addition, he might not like the fact the team is already preparing for his inevitable departure. However, it is hard to blame the Steelers brass for preparing for the quarterback potentially retiring in the near future. Especially with all the uncertainty over the past few years.

Fortunately, if Roethlisberger does play another three to five years, Pittsburgh might be in good shape for the foreseeable future. The team has arguably the best one-two punch in the NFL. It has Antonio Brown downfield and Le’Veon Bell coming out of the backfield.

Pittsburgh will almost certainly be a legitimate Super Bowl title contender next season if Roethlisberger can stay healthy along with their stars on offense happy and ready to compete.