PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are going into the offseason operating under the assumption that Ben Roethlisberger will not be their quarterback for the 2022 season.
Roethlisberger has not announced his retirement officially, but said that this was likely his final season. His contract is set to automatically void before the 2022 league year begins.
The Steelers have two quarterbacks with NFL starting experience on their roster in Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins, but it does not sound as if head coach Mike Tomlin is satisfied with just those two moving forward.
“Both guys, Mason and Dwayne have had their moments, but they’ll they’ll have to prove that, and not only in the team development process, but through playing itself,” he said. “They’re guys that start that I wouldn’t characterize as everyday starters. They’ll be given an opportunity to establish themselves and there’s going to be competition. There always is. They’ll write that story. I think that both guys have positioned themselves to fight that fight with the work they’ve done from a work standpoint and a professionalism standpoint in 2021.”
So how will the Steelers add to their quarterback room for 2022? There had been a report earlier this offseason that Tomlin would prefer not to go to a rookie and would rather add a more established starter, through trade or free agency. He denied that Tuesday, saying he’s available to all options.
“I think it’s prudent and appropriate to be open to all of the above,” he said. “You have to weigh what’s available to you in the free agent market and the cost of acquiring it versus what’s available to you in the draft and what’s the best mix for us? What’s the best mix positionally, that allows us potentially to put the strongest group on the field not only in 2022, but just for the foreseeable future. Those are just the variables at play in terms of those discussions and decision making, and so I’m open to all of the above.”