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Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 NFL season after an 18-year career that is likely going to land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Roethlisberger make six Pro Bowl appearances. He won a pair of Super Bowls, and he threw for over 64,000 yards in his career.
But he darn near added more to those numbers. At least if Roethlisberger’s prior comments linking him to the San Francisco 49ers are to be believed.
“They were, I think, reaching out maybe just to gauge my interest,” he said at the time. “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.”
Now it appears that Roethlisberger is opting to temper any excitement about a potential return.
“”I’ll reiterate. It was them calling my agent just to gauge interest,” he said on his ‘Football Bahlin with Ben Roethlisberger’ podcast.. “They called, but again, I’ll reiterate, It was gauging interest.”
While Roethlisberger isn’t coming back, he does think San Francisco could pursue another future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers.
“I know he’s been mentioned with them before,” Roethlisberger said. “I could see it happening. They’ve got a great team, great defense, got a lot of weapons. He likes the boots under center, getting out, moving. He’d be great in that offense, obviously.”
Rodgers, however, appears to have his heart set on the New York Jets.
And to their credit, the 49ers have expressed their confidence in Brock Purdy after a breakout rookie season following injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.
But hey, never say never in the NFL.