3 realistic veteran replacements for Ben Roethlisberger, including Derek Carr
By John Buhler
If the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t want to replace Ben Roethlisberger in the weak 2022 NFL quarterback draft, they could look to trade for one of these savvy Pro Bowl-caliber veterans.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may end up replacing Ben Roethlisberger by way of trade this offseason.
No, this doesn’t involve the Steelers sending Roethlisberger to another team. The expectation is he will call it a career after Pittsburgh’s middling 2021 NFL season finally comes to an end. While he wanted nothing more than to lead this team back to the Super Bowl, it would take a modern miracle for that to happen. However, trading for a vet this spring could make that dream a reality.
Here is the overall viability of the three veteran quarterbacks Mike Sando of The Athletic outlined in his column from Monday.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 veteran options to replace Ben Roethlisberger
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Matt Ryan. QB. Atlanta Falcons. 3. player. 44
Matt Ryan can cement his Canton legacy a few good seasons in Pittsburgh
Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons will be 37-years-old next season. The four-time Pro Bowler and 2016 NFL MVP is seemingly one more quality year away from punching his ticket to Canton. He is straddling the Kenny Anderson line for Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement as we speak. His passing numbers will eventually get him in, but he has lost way too many games of late in Atlanta.
Pittsburgh is one of the handful of teams that can take on his salary for 2022 and 2023. Ryan will not be hitting free agency until 2024 ahead of his age-39 season out of Boston College, barring a potential out after this year. If traded to Pittsburgh, Ryan would bring a stabilizing presence to the quarterback position that has not existed with Roethlisberger since he had Tommy John surgery.
The question is would Atlanta trade Ryan? If the Falcons did, it would mean head coach Arthur Smith wants to align his career with a quarterback like Kenny Pickett or Matt Corral coming out instead of a borderline hall of famer. With a quarterback-desperate Carolina Panthers team likely picking ahead of Atlanta in-division, and possibly the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta needs to wait.
Atlanta may draft a quarterback this spring, but the money doesn’t make a ton of sense for a contending Falcons team to dump the best signal-caller in franchise history after only one year finally playing for an offensive-minded head coach.