Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is entering his 16th NFL season, but somewhere along the way, it seems that he lost some of his passion for the game of football.
Well, now, Roethlisberger says that his joy for the sport is back:
“I feel like I love football again,” said Roethlisberger, according to Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I don’t know if I can put my finger on a particular reason, but it just feels that way.”
The Steelers underwent sweeping changes this offseason, trading wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders and seeing running back Le'Veon Bell officially walk.
Of course, Roethlisberger did not exactly have the greatest relationship with either player, so perhaps a less tense locker room is a reason for his rediscovered enjoyment.
Regardless, the 37-year-old is feeling good:
“I always love doing it, but I think loving it but having fun doing it, I think a lot of things can contribute to it,” said Roethlisberger. “You get a rejuvenated feel at this point in your career. You can either just go through the motions or you get it going. I feel like I got it going.”
Roethlisberger is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he threw for 5,129 yards, 34 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his passed and posting a passer rating of 96.5.
However, in spite of his gaudy numbers, the Steelers went just 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013, as locker room issues spearheaded a second-half collapse that ruined a 7-2-1 start.
Follow Us
Subscribe