People questioning Ben Roethlisberger's desire to come back and play football at a high level might not be aware of just how competitive the Steelers quarterback truly is.
Roethlisberger continues to rehab an elbow injury that forced him to miss all but six quarters of the 2019 season. And he's expected to return to the Steelers' lineup in 2020, with the team having some expectation he might be even better following the surgery.
Roethlisberger said Thursday on Sirius XM's NFL Radio with Bruce Murray and former teammate Bruce Gradkowski he plans on being back and has a lot more football in him, despite turning 38 last month.
"It was tough on the sidelines this year," Roethlisberger said. "I think it really put a little fire into me, like, ‘This is not the end for me. This is now how I’m going out. I’m going to go bust my butt and I’m going to give it everything I have to just give myself a chance to just come back and try to be better than ever.’
"I know that sounds kind of (crazy) as you can get older in life to get better. Yeah, your physical attributes might fall off, you might not be as fast or as big or whatever, but you still can be as sharp because you can be mentally sharp and you can maybe hone your skills differently. I’ve been doing it for a long time but I still feel like I got gas in the tank and I’m excited.”
Part of the reason for that is because he also got to watch the Steelers defense become one of the top units in the NFL last season. The Steelers lost nose tackle Javon Hargrave in free agency, but the rest of the defense returns intact.
And young starters such as linebackers T.J. Watt and Devin Bush and safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds should only continue to get better.
“To me, that was one of the exciting things to watch this year from the sideline, was that defense. They were fun," Roethlisberger said. "Some key additions. Guys just stepping up, taking their game to another level. Man was it fun watching those edge rushers come off the edge. It reminded me of (James) Harrison and (LaMarr) Woodley. And it was neat to see on the back-end, seeing Minkah (Fitzpatrick), seeing (Terrell Edmunds) and all those guys and the way that our corners were playing. That whole defense was so much fun to watch.
"And so I am excited to come back because I think that they’re going to be an integral part of a potential championship run, which is what we’re all looking for.”
“They have to do what they have to do. We’ve got some quarterbacks on the roster, but if they feel like there’s a better one out there then they got to go get him," Roethlisberger said. "And that’s their prerogative. That’s why they’re the owners, the GMs and the coaches and we just play. It’s not going to change my mindset, my mentality, my motivation. I’m trying to come off an injury, so I’m going to give it everything I have. If they go draft a quarterback with our first pick in the second (round) it’s not like it’s going to make me go out there and try to be any better because I’m already trying to do that anyway, you know?”
