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Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all but confirmed everyone's speculation about his future in the NFL. While speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, Roethlisberger was asked whether Monday night's home game against the Cleveland Browns would be his last at Heinz Field. While Roethlisberger said that he wasn't going to give a definitive answer, he said that "all signs are pointing that way."
Ben Roethlisberger has played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 18 NFL seasons, and as his career comes to an end, he will hold a special place in NFL history.
Ben Roethlisberger will have longest tenure with one NFL team
If this is, indeed, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's final NFL season, he will have done something that few before him have.
Roethlisberger was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He has spent the entire 18 seasons of his NFL career with just one team. He is currently the longest tenured quarterback in the NFL.
Ben Roethlisberger is also the lone remaining quarterback from the 2004 NFL Draft. Former Chargers and Colts quarterback Phillip Rivers, who was also drafted in 2004, spent all but one season with the Chargers. He then spent the 2020 NFL season with the Colts before retiring after last season.
If Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers returns next season, he will tie Roethlisberger for the most tenured NFL quarterback. Rodgers was drafted in 2005 and has spent every season with the Packers, although there is speculation that he may depart after this season.
Playing for just one NFL team throughout an entire career is a feat that even some of the other big names in the game have not been able to do. Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Peyton Manning left the team he was drafted by, the Indianapolis Colts, and signed with the Denver Broncos. He won a Super Bowl title with each organization.
Quarterback Tom Brady was expected to stay with the New England Patriots his entire career but, after the 2019 NFL season, a 17-year journey with the team that drafted him came to an end. Brady is now in his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Roethlisberger's long-standing tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, also, comes with two Super Bowl titles, an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and an overall committment to a team, a city and a fanbase that will never be forgotten.
