Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young criticizes the Pittsburgh Steelers for sticking with Ben Roethlisberger without plan for future.
Every Monday night, ESPN has the chance to showcase some of its best announcing talent in “Monday Night Countdown”, which appears before the anticipated primetime kickoff. Hall of Famers Randy Moss and Steve Young debate topics with former NFL defensive tackle Booger McFarland and journalist Adam Schefter, which sometimes leads to heated discussions.
Before the Raiders-Chargers game, Steve Young opened up about the Steelers’ lack of plan at the quarterback position in regards to Ben Roethlisberger.
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Roethlisberger, who turned 39 in March of this year, has seen a noticeable drop in production. It’s something that the Steelers won’t be able to afford much longer if they want to stay competitive in their division: the team is ranked dead last last at 1-3, far behind three 3-1 teams.
As Roethlisberger hobbles toward 40, he is expected to retire after this season, but the Steelers have no apparent plan to name a successor.
Legendary quarterback Steve Young criticizes Steelers for sticking with Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely
While Young’s hot takes on current NFL quarterbacks receive some pushback on social media, the Pittsburgh sports world tends to side with Young as they watch an abysmal season unfold. Roethlisberger remains a Steelers legend who won the franchise two Super Bowls, but the time has come for him to retire. He can’t makes the throws he needs, he can’t make the plays he needs, yet he refuses to cede his position gracefully.
Paul Zeise for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put it matter-of-factly:
“The Steelers have many issues, but their biggest one is Ben Roethlisberger. He is killing any chance they have of being a team that competes for the AFC North title.
And if coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t see it or doesn’t want to see it, then he is an enabler and risks losing the locker room. Players want to win, and right now, Roethlisberger is not giving them a chance.”
Commenting on pressing Week 4 headlines, Young also commented on what the Chicago Bears should do about the starting position between quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.
The passionate Hall of Fame quarterback has strong opinions about how modern quarterbacks perform in the league, roping Dalton and Roethlisberger into the category of QBs that need to be benched.
As far as replacing Big Ben goes, the Steelers are only equipped with quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. In the four games Rudolph played in 2020, he won three of them, while Haskins continues to develop after a failed stint with the Washington Football Team.