Play.
Ryan Clark said it was time for Big Ben to take a seat.
Ryan Clark admits that time has caught up with Ben Roethlisberger, and that he's hurting the Pittsburgh offense as a whole. There is a time and a place for it.
4:44 PM
According to league sources, Ben Roethlisberger has told former teammates and some within the organization that he expects to be his last season as a quarterback.
Roethlisberger doesn't want the last part of the season to be about him as Pittsburgh tries to make a playoff push, so he won't make any public statements about it.
Sources say he and those within the organization are operating as if he is entering the final five games of his career, with two of them coming against the Baltimore Ravens and the final regular-season game as well.
Roethlisberger is in his 18th season and the final year of his contract, he is 39 years old and has seen all his quarterback draft classmates such as Eli Manning and Philip Rivers move on to the next chapters of their lives. He's expected to be next.
Roethlisberger told many that he would never want to play anywhere else than Pittsburgh, where he is ending his career. It doesn't mean he couldn't play in another city next season, but that is highly unlikely, according to one source.
This is expected to be the final game of one of the greatest players in the history of the team. Roethlisberger will leave the franchise with more wins, touchdown passes and passing yards than any other quarterback.
His 410 career touchdown passes are eighth most in the history of the NFL. His 62,870 passing yards are sixth all time. His 161 career wins are fifth all time.
The fact that this will be the final season for the six-time Pro-Bowler does not come as a surprise to many around the organization. They felt that last season could have been Roethlisberger's last and, in a way, the team even seemed to prepare for that, turning over much of its roster on the offensive side of the football this season and already transitioning to the future there.
The average age of the Pittsburgh's offensive roster is the youngest in the league, with rookies manning the center and left tackle positions, and at running back and tight end. The other offensive positions have begun to move ahead of the quarterback position.
There are questions about whether or not the one to succeed Roethlisberger will be the one with the most experience.
Roethlisberger has helped bring two Super Bowl titles to Pittsburgh, so he will need one more chance to try to add to them.
