The Steelers offense is officially back to full strength for the 2017-18 season. Ben Roethlisberger posted on his Twitter account saying that he will be returning to the field for his 14th season. He vowed to give the team his "absolute best," which is exactly what the Steelers needed to hear. He told 93.7 The Fan radio show that he would take the offseason to reconsider his options like retirement. Well, it seems like he still has the hunger for another championship, after only being a game away from a Super Bowl last season. He is coming back to one of the most high-powered offenses in the NFL.
Big Ben's Back
Ben Roethlisberger has spent his whole career with the Steelers including three Super Bowl trips, winning two of them. After this season, he said he needed "take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options, to consider health and family and things like that, just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season if there's going to be the next season." as per ESPN. This put fear in the fans of Pittsburgh, but many couldn't blame Roethlisberger for needing this time to get his mind right. He is 35-years-old and has dealt with injuries last season. Football is a sport that can cause long-term health problems, and Big Ben has a family to care for after football. The Steelers were optimistic about Roethlisberger returning to the team, but they still respected the QB's wishes on thinking things out, staying in contact with him over the past few months.
Big Ben, despite his Hall of Fame career, has battled injuries throughout his career. He has battled shoulder injuries, concussions, and leg injuries during his career. He missed two games last year due to a knee injury. Big Ben has been known as a warrior, playing through many injuries and leading his teams to victory in many of those games.
He has taken some big hits, so the o-line needs to tighten up so Pittsburgh fans aren't kept in suspense next offseason.
The Key Piece
Believe it or not, Big Ben was a key piece that could've determined the offense's fate this upcoming season. Antonio Brown was locked up with a contract extension earlier this offseason, and Le'Veon Bell was placed under the franchise tag.
Those were two pieces that provided a lot of yards and touchdowns for the Steelers offense last season. The Steelers were the 7th best offense in the NFL, and Ben Roethlisberger was the glue that made all the pieces fit together. If he was to retire, the offense wouldn't be as powerful. Roethlisberger threw for 3,819 yards and 29 touchdowns, completing 64 percent of his passes.
With Roethlisberger back under center, the Steelers offense will be back tearing apart defenses, propelling them to being Super Bowl contenders this upcoming season. The Killer B's trio is back, and defenses should be very scared. Big Ben vowed to give his absolute best. Should we expect to see the Steelers in the Super Bowl this year?
Informed the team I am looking forward to my 14th season. Steeler Nation will get my absolute best! — Ben.
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) April 7, 2017