With injuries at the game’s most important position piling up, the San Francisco 49ers reached out to a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback about possibly coming out of retirement last season.
That retired quarterback would be Ben Roethlisberger, who spent his entire playing career (2004 to 2021) with the Steelers. A clearly banged-up and fading Roethlisberger retired following the team’s AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, walking away as the franchise’s all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns leader.
During an interview with Mark Madden on 105.9 The X (h/t Alan Saunders of Steelers Now), Roethlisberger revealed that there were talks with the eventual NFC runner-ups about potentially returning for one last run.
“They were, I think, reaching out maybe just to gauge my interest. I had discussions…I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued. I could still do it and prove to people that I could still play. At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.”
The 49ers lost starter Trey Lance for the season in Week 2 with an ankle injury. Jimmy Garoppolo, the team’s main starting QB before Lance, took over but suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 12.
Kyle Shanahan and company decided to move forward with rookie Brock Purdy, the final selection of the 2022 NFL Draft. Purdy won all five of his regular season starts and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, but he suffered a UCL injury early in the contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Backup Josh Johnson had to leave the NFC title game with a concussion, and a visibly limited Purdy had to finish the contest. The 49ers fell 31-7 to the Eagles, who went on to lose to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
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Garoppolo signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. It’s now up to Purdy and Lance to duke it out and see who will win the starting QB job before September.
