Ben Roethlisberger’s new deal will likely allow him to retire as a Steeler, but what if Pittsburgh had gone in a different direction? Roethlisberger accepted a substantial pay-cut to remain a Steeler, but if he hadn’t, the 39-year-old could very well have finished his career elsewhere.
Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Bears had “internal discussions” about pursuing Roethlisberger before the Steelers brought him back on a revised contract. It’s unclear how serious Chicago’s interest level was, though La Canfora implies the Bears may have been Roethlisberger’s only true suitor had the Steelers chosen to move on from him.
With Big Ben no longer a consideration, the Bears have expanded their quarterback search, earmarking Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson and Jimmy Garoppolo as potential trade targets. Chicago also explored trading for Carson Wentz, though the equally quarterback-needy Colts made sure that never came to fruition.
Roethlisberger commanding the Bears’ huddle would have been a strange sight, though the novelty probably would have worn off eventually, as it did with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. Regardless, the likely Hall-of-Famer never had any intention of leaving Pittsburgh and it seems the Steelers were similarly motivated to bring back their franchise signal-caller for what figures to be his final NFL season.
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