Ben Roethlisberger will not be on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they open their preseason against the New York Giants on Friday. Maybe this could be a nice little test run for a Steelers team that’s facing the possibility Big Ben will call it quits soon.
According to general manager Kevin Colbert, the team is actually at the point where it has to prepare for life after Roethlisberger.
“I hope he stays here more than one year, but we have to be prepared,” Colber said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Will I see more games, maybe, more quarterbacks? Maybe. Not because of what he said, but where he is. At 35, you may put a replacement in place sooner than later.”
Pittsburgh will start rookie fourth-round pick Joshua Dobbs in the team’s preseason opener. It also has Landry Jones under contract after the team signed him to a two-year contract during the offseason.
For his part, Roethlisberger apparently considered retirement following the 2016 season. It’s something he’s opened up about more recently, utilizing CTE as a possible reason for calling it quits soon.
We have no idea whether Dobbs is the long-term solution. If that’s not the case, Pittsburgh will be back to the drawing board next offseason. Whether that comes with Big Ben in retirement remains to be seen.