Ben Roethlisberger's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 9

In terms of fantasy quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger has been a revelation lately. But with his value on the rise, this might be the perfect time to find a trade partner for the Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller.

His 522 passing yards were enough to make fantasy owners happy, but the absurd six touchdowns made those who benched him regret everything. Roethlisberger not only put up ridiculous numbers in Week 8 but actually set a franchise record, as Adam Schefter of ESPN notes:

Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network provided some background on where that puts him compared to entire NFL teams:

While some owners might be immediately planning on starting Big Ben, it might not be an automatic move. Sure, if it's over Teddy Bridgewater, it's probably an obvious move. Let's just say this might not necessarily be a trend for Roethlisberger.

Even with that 44.78-point performance, he still has a whopping two games with over 20 points this season. One of those was not against the Baltimore Ravens, who actually held him to a season-low earlier this year.

The last time Pittsburgh faced Baltimore, Roethlisberger threw no touchdowns and had one interception along with just 217 passing yards. Michael Fabiano of NFL.com offered his thoughts on the quarterback:

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Roethlisberger is coming off one of the greatest performances in NFL history, so why is he a sit 'em? Well, he's facing a Ravens defense that has held him to just one touchdown pass in five of their last six games (including each of the last four). I would expect Big Ben's ceiling to be around 16 points in this AFC North tilt.

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Therefore, let's just say this weekend isn't a good matchup for the quarterback. However, the rest of the fantasy season looks promising. Prior to the Week 12 bye, Roethlisberger has a chance to exploit both the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans defenses after the Ravens.

The Jets have allowed an average of 22.17 points to quarterbacks while the Titans surrendered an average of 16.59 points over the last four weeks. Then again, Tennessee has faced Brian Hoyer, Blake Bortles, Ryan Fitzpatrick and a combination of Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy.

Not exactly a daunting task for Roethlisberger. However, owners who want to unleash the quarterback might want to do so now.

Due to his phenomenal performance, his value is higher than it likely will be the rest of the season. Even if the return isn't great, getting a reliable running back or wide receiver for Roethlisberger is a deal worth making.

For owners who have Roethlisberger as a backup—which should be the case in most leagues—passing him off to an owner in need will help both sides. Having six quarterbacks on a bye including Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler, who have struggled lately, some owners might be getting desperate.

Keeping him in deep leagues isn't a terrible idea, but don't expect the same results moving forward. Otherwise, dealing him prior to Sunday night seems like the most ideal option to build toward the playoffs.

All fantasy statistics courtesy of NFL.com.

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