Coach Mike Tomlin has talked to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger multiple times this offseason, hitting on all of the normal topics the two usually address in the offseason.
“We’ve been in pretty fluid conversation,” said Tomlin while attending the NFL Owners Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. “I hear he’s in some big-game hunting with Jim Kelly in New Zealand. We spoke before he went on that trip. We’ve had some good, fluid discussions. But really, normal discussions that we have this time of year, keeping him abreast of what’s going on in free agency, how the draft is potentially shaping up, normal, fluid conversations you have with your veteran franchise quarterback.”
There is one topic that really hasn’t come up much, though, and that is Roethlisberger’s comments made shortly after the season when he hinted at potential retirement.
“Ben is answering questions," Tomlin said. "Sometimes in an effort to be transparent and answer the question as honestly you can, it produces other questions. It’s not an issue for me. I understand the nature of the conversation and how this discussion got started. He is going through his normal procedure. The older he gets, the more direct questions he gets in that regard. You guys ran with it. That is your right and responsibility. It’s not my responsibility to overreact to it.”
At the end of the season, Big Ben said he was going to take time in the offseason to evaluate and consider all his options, including his health, family and age. It would be hard to imagine Ben calling it quits at this point, especially with a dynamic offense surrounding him.
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