Ben Roethlisberger’s coming back to Steelers, but he shouldn’t be

Just when you thought an aging Ben Roethlisberger was out, the Steelers blink and pull him back in. After 17 mostly glorious seasons, it should have come to this instead: A messy but ultimately necessary divorce for Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, which I detail in the podcast. That's because it certainly sounded as if Steelers’ General Manager Kevin Colbert was ready to move on from Big Ben last week. Consider Colbert’s terse words as he talked so very coldly about the once darling relationship with the team and its quarterback: “As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Many in Pittsburgh interpreted that sub-zero assessment as the kiss of death. Ben Roethlisberger’s Steelers’ career sleeps with the fishes in the city’s three rivers, so the thinking went. And while Steelers Nation hated to see it, deep down those who knew football felt it was the right thing. Then, Big Ben held a private meeting with Steelers President Art Rooney II, and everything changed. Big Ben is coming back, but he shouldn’t be. Endings are inevitable, in life and especially in the in the NFL. After a great ride to three Super Bowls, two world championships and countless exciting regular season wins, this Pittsburgh pairing had reached the end of the road. Instead, Ben and the Steelers are saddling up for yet another season. But don’t look for a storybook ending in Steelers Nation. We reveal why and explore all the Roethlisberger ramifications as the Steelers’ storyline has just turned on a dime -- all in this edition of the Steelers Update Podcast, recorded before some of the latest fast-moving developments. Be sure to check out my PennLive column on Thursday, it will be packed with all the latest Pittsburgh takes on this shocking fork in the road to what had looked to be Roethlisberger’s exit. Now, the Big Ben-Steelers marriage is ‘till death do they part.’

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