Ike Taylor, former Steelers DB, won two Super Bowls with Ben Roethlisberger as his QB, but with Roethlisberger aging and a question mark at the QB position entering 2021, Taylor thinks it’s high time for Roethlisberger to file his retirement papers.
Speaking with TMZ, Taylor offered some advice to Roethlisberger: Either hang ’em up or get to training.
And if Roethlisberger decides to lace up the cleats for another season?
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Taylor reinforced that there’s nothing wrong with walking away (obviously) and acknowledged that it’s a difficult decision for some players to make, both reasonable statements. Taylor said that if the Steelers decide to run it back with Roethlisberger, then the run game needs to be at the forefront, with Roethlisberger taking charge.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has been non-committal on Roethlisberger’s future in recent weeks, but the organization has been open to bringing Roethlisberger back in 2021 — at the right price. Roethlisberger currently has a cap hit of more than $40,000,000, a hefty number, and the highest of any QB in the NFL.
Sitting at No. 24 in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Steelers also may have some options to replace Roethlisberger with a young signal-caller of their own, or they may choose to scour the trade- and free-agent markets for a future QB.
All the options are on the table for Pittsburgh, but the eyes are squarely on “Big Ben” for their next decision to be made.