“Bad blood between the Steelers and Big Ben ended his career”: Ben Roethlisberger was reportedly forced to retire
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Ben Roethlisberger
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a different situation that they have not been in for years, the team now has a new rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett as veteran QB Ben Roethlisberger who led the team to a Super Bowl victory announced that he will be retiring.
As per recent reports, the retirement of Big Ben may not have been due to injuries and the age of the quarterback but due to strained relations with the front office of the Pittsburgh Steelers. As per a report from Gerry Dulac, Big Ben was not thrilled with being a part of the team.
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“It was a Troy Polamalu type situation where he was forced into it”:
Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posed the question during a Wednesday chat, “Is there bad blood between the Steelers and Big Ben with how his career ended. Was he ready to retire or was it a Troy Polamalu type situation where he was forced into it?” It’s very very safe to assume that“, Dulac said. That is one heck of a statement and rather surprising considering that Pittsburgh was ready to move on a year ago itself. The team had specifically drawn up a plan that would ensure Big Ben had no option but to retire.
The front office offered him a reduced deal with the amount being not too high but not too low either, just the right amount for him to reject their offer. The team did not want to insult the QB, due to this, Roethlisberger accepted a $5 million reduction in what he was due to make.
It was evident last year that Big Ben was just a shell of what he once was. Due to mobility issues, he could not play well and in the final season of his career, there was virtually no mobility from the QB. Big Ben did his best to manage and stand his ground despite these issues, however, it was not good enough for the team to justify keeping him on for another season.
The entire league saw Ben’s decline as well and his name never popped up during the offseason quarterback trade deals either. If this is true, it is up to the Steelers and the QB in order to mend their ties, however, a player of his caliber and his loyalty to the team will ensure that the teams will end up seeing eye to eye at some point or the other.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2235 Articles Published)