Ben Roethlisberger Wants to Play 3 More Years, Maurkice Pouncey Says

Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said Friday that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger intends to play three more seasons before retiring from the NFL.

He said Roethlisberger "told us three years," per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "He says he wants to play out his contract, so we’ll see."

Fowler did note the signal-caller has two years left on his deal, so if he is going to finish his career with the Steelers, they would need to add one more year.

Pouncey's comments come after Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Jan. 15 Roethlisberger had told teammates he intended to play three more seasons. 

After the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots in last year's AFC Championship Game, Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh he was contemplating retirement. 

“I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options,” he said. “To consider health, and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there’s going to be a next season.”

Roethlisberger decided to return and had a successful 2017 season. He threw for 4,251 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading the Steelers to a 12-3 record in his 15 starts, but their season came to an abrupt end with a 45-42 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round on Jan. 14.