For the better part of the past two decades, the Steelers haven't had to concern themselves with the quarterback position.
It's been Ben Roethlisberger at the helm, guiding the franchise to two Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl appearances and a 156-74-1 record in games he's started.
It's been a Hall of Fame performance.
But all good things do come to an end. And 2021 is likely the end for Roethlisberger, now 39.
"I’m going to approach this like I do every season, which is like it’s my last. I think that’s the approach you have to take," Roethlisberger said during the team's OTA sessions. "You don’t approach it that way because it could be your last, you approach it that way because every play in football could be your last. Every game could be your last game. That just means I’m going out to give it everything I have. I’ve never looked toward the future.
"I’ve always looked at the right here and now. That’s what I’m going to do this season, is give everything I have for this group of guys."
Make no mistake, however. Roethlisberger took a pay cut to return this season because he wasn't happy with how the 2020 season ended with him throwing four interceptions in a 48-37 loss to the Browns in the playoffs.
He also threw for 501 yards and four touchdown passes, but Roethlisberger wasn't about to allow that to be his final performance in a Steelers uniform.
"I’m black and gold through and through. I didn’t want to go anywhere," Roethlisberger said. "That’s why I told the Rooneys and Coach (Mike) Tomlin, ‘I want to be here. I don’t want to be anywhere else.’ This is home to me. I’ll always bleed black and gold. Almost half my life has been here playing football for the Steelers. It’s why I told them, ‘Let’s take a pay cut to stay here and help this team.’ This is what I believe in, this group, this city. Each quarterback out there, to each his own. But this is home. I’m honored to have my career be here."
What does he have left? That is the big question.
Roethlisberger was very good most of last season despite coming off a major elbow injury and subsequent surgery that cost him all but six quarters of the 2019 season. He helped the Steelers to an 11-0 start, but was also a big part of the team's fade down the stretch, as his touch on deep passes didn't come back last season.
Now, more than a year removed from the surgery, Roethlisberger's arm feels more back to normal and he's hopeful that will help him hold up down the stretch.
"My arm feels great," he said. "I’d like to wait until we get into more of the season and see how it feels. ... My arm was healed. I played. But I think anybody that has a major surgery, it almost takes that first year back. It’s still, you’re back, but are you really back? That’s why I want to reserve the answer until we get into the season a little bit to let you know how my arm feels, even compared to last year."
The cast behind him is a little different. Mason Rudolph was signed to a contract extension in the offseason through the 2022 season. But that makes him the only quarterback on the roster who is signed beyond this season.
The Steelers signed former Washington first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins in the offseason and re-signed Josh Dobbs to compete with him for the No. 3 spot.
Rudolph will enter training camp later this month as the unquestioned No. 2 quarterback, but only needs to look back at 2019, when he unseated Landry Jones as the top backup in his second season to know a solid performance will be needed in the preseason to hold onto his spot.
Unlike last year, the Steelers and the rest of the NFL will have a preseason. In fact, the Steelers will play four preseason games, starting with the Hall of Fame game Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio. The rest of the league outside of their opponent in the Hall of Fame game, the Cowboys, will only play three preseason games as part of the league's shift to a 17-game regular season.
That's good news for a team installing a new offense under first-year coordinator Matt Canada. Roethlisberger and the other three quarterbacks have spent plenty of time at OTAs and minicamp learning the nuances of Canada's new system. But the preseason will be a good testing ground for it.
"I told him, ‘I know this is your offense.’ He said, ‘No, it’s ours,'" Roethlisberger said. "But it’s his offense and I’m trying to do everything I can to be open to the new challenge and say, ‘OK, I’m learning.’ If something is confusing or if something doesn’t quite make sense, rather than say ‘I hate this,’ it’s ‘OK, tell my how I can make this better, or tell my how I can learn the formation name, what is your trick to learning things?’ So, we just have been constantly communicating.
"And he’s been really good in saying, ‘Hey Ben, if there’s something you don’t like, let me know, and we can talk through it or throw it out.’ Communication is key to everything. That’s what we’ve been doing and it’s been really good so far."
It will all look different. It will all feel different. But at least for one more season, it will be Roethlisberger pulling the trigger on all of the plays, just as he's done for most of the previous 17 seasons.
He'll enter 2021 needing 3,093 yards to pass Philip Rivers for fifth place on the all-time passing yards list. And he needs 29 touchdown passes to join Tom Brady (581), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508) as the only quarterbacks with at least 425 passing touchdowns. He threw 33 touchdown passes in 2020.
That's lofty company.
But he has one more important thing on his mind -- joining Brady (7), Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana (4) and Troy Aikman (3) as the only quarterbacks to win more than two Super Bowls.
"I want to win a Super Bowl this year," Roethlisberger said. "That’s always everyone in this building’s goal. Every building around the NFL, that’s the ultimate goal. I’m giving it everything I have to win a Super Bowl this year because it’s this year and this is the most important year for any of us."
