# Ben Roethlisberger makes it official **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [January 27, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497 "2022-01-27T15:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/1 "2022-01-27T15:58:45Z")
Ben Roethlisberger has officially announced his retirement. 18 seasons, 3 Super Bowl appearances, two titles. In 2006, he became the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl. Probably a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. > **[Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger officially announces retirement after 18 seasons](https://www.nfl.com/news/steelers-qb-ben-roethlisberger-officially-announces-retirement-after-18-seasons)** > > Longtime Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger announced Thursday morning that he has decided to retire after 18 NFL seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/2 "2022-01-27T16:34:07Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Probably a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get in. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/3 "2022-01-27T16:36:32Z")
I’m glad for his sake and for his team he decided to bow out. Although the team managed to have a reasonably successful season its obvious his skills are rapidly declining. It was like looking at Namath getting beaten up at the end of career while being completely immobile in the pocket. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/4 "2022-01-27T16:40:15Z")
Clearly diminished, but he was not the Steelers’ main problem the last year or two. Ever since 2012 they’ve not felt any need to invest in the O-line until at least Day 2 of the draft. They seemed to expect that Big Ben would just do his Big Ben thing and the O-line was allowed to age without adding any viable depth. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/5 "2022-01-27T16:43:42Z")
Yeah if you’re going to have a pillbox for a QB you need to protect him. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/6 "2022-01-28T14:27:19Z")
The Onion weighs in. > **[Pittsburgh Honors Ben Roethlisberger With Commemorative Statue In Women’s...](https://www.theonion.com/pittsburgh-honors-ben-roethlisberger-with-commemorative-1848433164)** > > PITTSBURGH—Saluting the legacy of a quarterback who brought two Super Bowls to the city and did so much to local women, Pittsburgh honored a retiring Ben Roethlisberger Thursday with a new commemorative statue in a local women’s bathroom. “We can’t... ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/7 "2022-01-28T18:26:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’d be shocked if he didn’t get in. Unfortunately, I think you’re right. I wish rape was a disqualifier, but it doesn’t seem to be. As with Kobe Bryant, there will be a few lone voices of dissent, but most people are all too willing to sweep it under the rug. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-roethlisberger-makes-it-official/958497/8 "2022-01-28T19:58:10Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Unfortunately, I think you’re right. I wish rape was a disqualifier, but it doesn’t seem to be. I do not personally care for Ben. He seemed whiny and full of excuses often, and of course the rape allegations are a dark mark against him (I don’t know the truth about them but I don’t dismiss them). On the field, though, he accomplished a lot and that’s going to get him into the Hall of Fame.