Retired Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently revealed that the San Francisco 49ers contacted him late last season to gauge his interest in playing.
It is unclear exactly when this contact occurred.
Roethlisberger said that it was an intriguing proposition.
Former #Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger says that the #49ers pursued him late last season and he nearly considered a comeback. pic.twitter.com/Lh6jzFLisy
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 21, 2023
What Roethlisberger Said
It turns out that his loyalty to Pittsburgh may have been the deciding factor.
“They were, I think, reaching out maybe just to gauge my interest…I had discussions…I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued. I could still do it and prove to people that I could still play. At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.”
Seeing Roethlisberger in a 49ers uniform would have been disconcerting for the diehard Steelers fans who adore him.
He spent his entire 18-year career in Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl Champion and a sure bet as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the Class of 2027.
What This Revelation Means For The 49ers
Since we do not know when the contact occurred, it is hard to determine the context for the 49ers.
Maybe it happened before Brock Purdy got his first career start.
It seems implausible that it would occur after Purdy started winning; recall that he was 5-0 as the 49ers starter in the regular season.
What is most interesting about this is that fans heard that the 49ers were fully committed to Purdy and knew what his abilities were from training camp.
If the team was contacting the then 40-year-old Roethlisberger who had not played football for nearly 10 months at that point, did they really have the ironclad confidence they portrayed to the public?
What Could Have Been
It is hard to imagine that Roethlisberger would have sprung into immediate action and led the 49ers on a 5-0 run, so everything turned out the way it was supposed to.
The only unfortunate part of the Brock Purdy story is how he was injured in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles and could not play.
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