Report: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger to Return for 18th Season in 2021

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger intends to return in 2021 for his 18th NFL season, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Roethlisberger, who will turn 39 in March, has started all 13 games for the Steelers this season in his return from an elbow injury that cost him almost all of the 2019 season.

This year, he’s completed 345 of 521 passes for 3292 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Roethlisberger is entering the final season of a three-year contract extension signed in 2019. Under the terms of that contract, he is set to earn $19 million in 2021 and count for over $40 million towards the Steelers’ salary cap.

Roethlisberger said before the season that he would not play for another team other than Pittsburgh and then he would retire if the Steelers traded him.

After the Steelers lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night to fall to 11-2, Rothlisberger was critical of his play and said that if he can’t perform at a higher level, he needs to retire.

The Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Rothlisberger has already set team records for most seasons and games played, and nearly every passing statistic.

He is the only remaining active player that has appeared in all three of the team’s most recent Super Bowls and won championships in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.