The Pittsburgh Steelers should move on without their big clock that seems like a landmark behind center. Big Ben Roethlisberger has had that landmark status the last 17 seasons in Pittsburgh as a fixture behind center that is unable to move or bring in the wrecking ball. The Steelers are in much need of a wrecking ball behind center, like many teams in the NFL. Bringing back Big Ben does not make sense financially as he will cost 41 million dollars of the upcoming salary cap this season. The owner of the Steelers, Art Rooney, does not like changes as head coaches who have Pope-like status when it comes to their jobs. Rooney already said Roethlisberger will return as starting quarterback for the Steelers next season. The Steelers will restructure Big Ben’s contract. Will the Steelers have enough to keep JuJu Smith-Schuster, one of the Steelers big play makers? What about left over money in the cap to keep that defense intact? What about adding some depth to that defense that lost pieces and eventually imploded? The biggest glaring question to me is the eye test. Can Big Ben Roethlisberger throw the ball downfield? The deep ball of Big Ben has disappeared. How long will it take opposing defenses to catch on to the Steeler’s lack of running game and the short passes?

Ben Roethlisberger was drafted in 2004 11th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Big Ben was a monster of a specimen at 6’5″ and 240 pounds, bigger than half of the defensive players and the size of some of the offensive linemen. Big Ben’s book jacket says it all. Big Ben has won 2 out of 3 Superbowls that he has guided his team to. Everyone remembers the catch of Santonio Holmes to end the Cardinals dreams that season. Big Ben came in firing on all cylinders day one as he was the Offensive rookie of the year as opposing players hung on him trying to bring him down only to see Roethlisberger zip the ball into an open receiver. Big Ben as starting quarterback never had a losing season with him under center the entire season. That includes 11 playoff appearances, 8 division titles amounting up to 13 winning seasons. Big Ben has won 169 games adding up both post and regular season together. His winning percentage of 67% is better than many hall of fame quarterbacks. This list features John Elway, Dan Marino, Steve Young, and Troy Aikman with a few others. Roethlisberger stands at 7th all-time in passing yards and 8th in touchdown passes.

The Steelers did well last year because Big Ben Roethlisberger was knocked out early in the season of 2019 and Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs. The Steelers had an easier schedule not making the post season in 2019. Last year, Big Ben Roethlisberger had the Steelers at 11-0. They were the last unbeaten team and at the time, the number 1 seed in the AFC. The Steelers destroyed the Browns early on who could not beat a winning team until late in the season. The Steelers beat the Ravens twice at the time when Baltimore was not hot yet and still in a deep funk from the last post season. The Steelers exploited the Titans bad defense and held on to the lead barely in that one. Those 4 wins, 2 versus Ravens, Browns and Titans were teams with a winning record. The other 7 wins came from bad teams the Steelers were playing teams from the dreaded NFC East. Then after 11-0, the Steelers lost 4 out of 5 games to end the season and they looked like a completely different team. If you count the playoffs, the Steelers lost the last 5 out of six games and that was a major tailspin.

Teams figured out Ben Roethlisberger could not throw a deep ball. Teams figured out he could not throw the ball down the field and relied on short passing only. Defenses like Washington and Buffalo made Big Ben age another ten seasons. Roethlisberger looked bad against a bad defense in the Steelers/Bengals rematch during which the Bumbles prevailed. Take away the running game and Steelers had problems. Then the defense which played so well started breaking down. Every game meant another piece of the Steel Curtain was done for the season. It became the Shower Curtain defense. Big Ben used to stand in the pocket with five guys draped on him and still got rid of the ball. At the end of the season, it was London Bridge’s falling down as the Big Ben clock came tumbling down as time caught up to the future hall of fame quarterback who will be a for sure first ballot in Canton.

I can see why the Steelers want to give Big Ben Roethlisberger one more go at this. The Steelers are loyal, maybe too loyal. Because this loyalty might hurt the overall team. Even if Big Ben gave me a restructured deal where he’s slashing all the prices and everything must go, the team will not win the Superbowl with him behind center. It’s that simple. The Steelers need JuJu Smith- Schuster together with the young rookie star from Notre Dame, Chase Claypool. James Washington and even though Diaontae Johnson had the case of the dropped balls these guys are a excellent receiving core. If you traded for Deshaun Watson with this same core and same defense, I think you can say Steelers’ odds have just jumped. Ryan Fitzpatrick I think would be a better option than holding on to an aging quarterback that needs a new arm. Only way Big Ben would come back is to be my bridge quarterback to groom some young guy picked up in the draft. This team can win now.

By getting rid of Big Ben Roethlisberger and cutting ties completely, the team could make moves to improve a roster that has a lot of good pieces in place. Get a better runner back than a James Connor. Steelers somehow find these play makers all the time. They may find another back, deep in the upcoming draft. If the Steelers signed Ryan Fitzpatrick or traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, or even gave Sam Darnold a shot and pried him away from the Jets. Darnold, Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph make a pretty good quarterback room. Matt Ryan would be expensive, but a better choice than Big Ben if he was available by the Falcons. The question with Ryan is can you retain your own free agents and what will that cost you. Obviously, Deshaun Watson or a Russell Wilson would be better than Big Ben, but you may lose guys in the process with a huge contract to pay these guys and top picks. A cheaper option like Jimmy Garoppolo or Sam Darnold could let you sign a JJ Watt and have a Watt family reunion on the roster. Find a cheaper option but a better quarterback than Big Ben, draft a quarterback, and keep the wheels on this Pittsburgh bus moving forward. Then flattening out versus a bad Bengals franchise who could be on the up rise. The faster the team moves on from Roethlisberger, the quicker they can compete. Lamar Jackson Ravens, Baker Mayfield Browns, and Joe Burrow of the Bengals in your division have cemented their signal caller for years to come while you’re riding a bull that has been castrated and needs to be sent up to your Aunt’s farm to find some serenity.