For Wednesday’s “First Call”, we’ll take a look at Doug Whaley’s comments on Ben Roethlisberger’s future with the Steelers.
There are many Steelers on an all-time list of black colleges and universities. Bruce Boudreau may want to be a coach again. A former Penguin is walking again.
And Tiger Woods was apparently on his way to meet a pair of famous NFL quarterbacks before his car accident.
Whaley’s words
If you believe Ben Roethlisberger’s agent, Ryan Tollner – and it looks like the NFL Network does – Ben Roethlisberger is coming back as a Steelers quarterback next year.
Ben Roethlisberger will really be back as the # Thieves starting QB this fall. I just connected with the agent of two-time Super Bowl winner Ryan Tollner, who said the following: pic.twitter.com/YnWRWwkbeM
– Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 23, 2021
As I wrote recently, I always thought that Kevin Colbert’s quote “While we’re sitting here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers” seemed more sinister in the press than on the tape.
I said at WDVE at the time of these comments that I was 60% in favor of the belief that Roethlisberger would be back on the team in 2021. Now I’m feeling even better about this prediction.
Notice, I said that I am “feeling better about the forecast”. I am not very well with the news.
I think the best thing for the Steelers is to cut Roethlisberger and move on with their reconstruction efforts. Plus, now you would have a whole year looking at Mason Rudolph to prove you were right or wrong in that choice. Or you can choose a quarterback in the first round, if one of your own is available.
But that’s just me.
Actually, no, it is not. Doug Whaley said the same thing this week in 93.7 The Fan.
Former Buffalo Bills general manager and former Steelers personnel coordinator also put the chances of a return for Roethlisberger at “60% he stays, 40% he goes.”
And he agrees with my view of the prospect of reformulating Roethlisberger’s contract to keep him for another year.
“Yes. The Steelers could cut Roethlisberger. The Steelers were here before him. And they will be here when he leaves,” Whaley told the PM Team on Monday.
“I personally would say, ‘Thanks Ben, you’re the best, we wouldn’t have two Super Bowl trophies without you, you’ll be the first member of the Hall of Fame, we’ll play the Hall of Fame game when you’re introduced, we’ll we’ll have it back to put it on the wall, but thanks for your service, we’ll have to go in a different direction for both of us. ‘”
I couldn’t agree more.
Whether Big Ben comes back next year or not, I don’t see Steelers as a playoff team. And I certainly don’t see them as candidates for the Super Bowl. So another season coming back with Roethlisberger just seems to postpone the inevitable change as a quarterback and allow Roethlisberger’s desire for a peaceful retirement to replace what is best for the franchise’s long-term interests.
Elsewhere in “First call” …
Steelers Highlights
In honor of Black History Month, Touchdown Wire has compiled a list of the best players from HBCUs – or historically Black colleges and universities – in the history of professional football.
As anyone who knows the history of the Steel Curtain will tell you, Hall of Fame scout Bill Nunn famously exploited the unknown talent of these schools to build the Super Steelers of that decade. It is therefore not surprising to see many of these players included on the list.
As well as a superstar from the 1990s.
Bruce is coming back?
“Buffalo Bruce” Boudreau has always been a favorite target of the mockery of Penguins fans when he was the coach of Washington Capitals.
Eventually, he was fired after five years. He was also hired and fired within five years in Anaheim. After four years with Minnesota Wild.
Now, The Athletic says it may be interested in making a comeback with the Seattle Kraken expansion.
Going
Former penguin Alex Galchenyuk is on yet another team, the third since he left the Penguins last February. He’s now with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He hasn’t practiced since he was acquired in a deal with Ottawa on February 15. But now he looks ready to skate.
More details
We are discovering more details about the car accident that injured Tiger Woods. ESPN’s Shelly Smith is reporting that Woods was on his way to meet NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees and Justin Herbert for a scheduled photo shoot when the accident occurred.
Tim Benz is an editor on the Tribune-Review team. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be posted again. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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Sports | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz