The news that Ben Roethlisberger is returning next season is very good for the franchise.
Not only does it give Kevin Colbert another year to figure out a plan to find the Steelers' next franchise quarterback, but it also gives the team their best option at quarterback without having to give up pieces in a trade from another team.
Despite what some might think about Roethlisberger's skills at 39 years old, he's still got the arm to hit NFL throws. The changes the Steelers must make involve limiting the tough decisions Roethlisberger has to make, especially late in the season.
It's undeniable that Roethlisberger fell off towards the end of the season, but it wasn't because of issues with his any limitations that are normally associated with aging quarterbacks. His problems came more from his decision making than any physical limitations.
It's important to remember that despite the Steelers' 1-5 collapse after starting the season 11-0, Roethlisberger still finished with 33 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. That was the second best touchdown-interception ration of his career, only behind his 2014 season.
Still, Roethlisberger did finish the season playing worse than how he started. He only threw an interception in two of his first nine games, but then threw interceptions in six of his last seven games of the season. Part of what made the difference was how often he had to throw the ball and make key decisions that kept drives alive ever game.
In those first nine games, Roethlisberger averaged only 37.1 passes, while he averaged 48.9 in his last seven games. That helped him throw 22 touchdown passes to four interceptions in the first nine games, compared to the 11 touchdowns and six interceptions of the last seven.
This is why it's imperative for the Steelers to invest in the offensive line and a primary running back in this offseason. A decent rushing attack would balance the offense consistently throughout the season and allow Roethlisberger to keep his passing attempt numbers down.
Those who criticize the idea of keeping Roethlisberger might point to those numbers as evidence that Roethlisberger's body failed him and that he cannot play a full season of NFL football. But a study of his film during those last seven games tells a different story.
Most of the mistakes that led to turnovers for Roethlisberger and the Steelers during those final games came from poor decisions made in the pocket. Roethlisberger continuously targeted underneath receivers as the season wore on, and teams began to take advantage of that tendency.
Here's Taron Johnson's pick six of Roethlisberger towards the end of the first half in a close game for the Steelers. Watch how little hesitation he has on the underneath route by JuJu Smith-Schuster:
It became a theme for the Steelers' final games.
Teams were expecting passes on underneath passing concepts during games and even selling out to stop them. Roethlisberger just didn't take advantage of them enough in those games.
Here's Smith-Schuster's huge fumble in the second game against the Bengals. Look at how Vonn Bell teed off on Smith-Schuster even before Roethlisberger threw the ball. Bell even admitted after the game that he went all out to go after Smith-Schuster:
You can see that in the space Bell vacated, Chase Claypool was wide open for a big play that he could've taken for a touchdown and changed the game.
That's not an issue about Roethlisberger's arm or inability to make certain throws into tight passing windows with other aging quarterbacks like Drew Brees, that's simply the Steelers needing him to throw too many of those short passes that allowed defenses to tee off on those concepts.
Roethlisberger's last two games of the season were all the evidence needed to show that he still had the arm to make the necessary throws.
Look at this 17-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ebron, where Roethlisberger throws a perfectly timed pass over tight man coverage on a corner route:
If Roethlisberger's arm was weak, he would've most likely had to float that pass a lot more and gave the cornerback more time to recover and make a play on Ebron's route.
The biggest step Roethlisberger had to take in those final games was simply targeting more passes downfield. Doing so would've freed up more opportunities for the run game and the shorter passing concepts the Steelers came to rely on in those weeks.
And again, it wasn't that Roethlisberger couldn't make the throws to open up those passes. Here's him in week 16, hitting Diontae Johnson on a 39-yard bomb for a touchdown:
That pass sparked a 17-point comeback that was fueled by more deep passes like that touchdown.
The challenge for Roethlisberger and the Steelers will be to find a balance between his deep passes and other facets of the offense. That's why Kevin Colbert must invest both free agency signings and draft picks this offseason to add important pieces to the Steelers' offensive line and find a primary running back who can become a featured part of the offense.
But even if the team can't sign Smith-Schuster in free agency, the roster still hast talented receivers who can catch the deep passes for Roethlisberger. Claypool scored 13 touchdowns during his first season, with six of them coming from passes over 20 yards.
Here was the last of them on a 29-yard strike from Roethlisberger, who held the centerfield safety in the middle of the field just long enough for the passing window to be open for him to strike:
Not only does Roethlisberger still have the arm to make these throws, but the wherewithal to pull off those passing concepts by manipulating defensive backs with his eyes.
That's something that can be used in Matt Canada's offense regardless of what new concepts he introduces.
If Roethlisberger were to retire, the Steelers would gain $19 million in cap space. But a good chunk of that space would have to go to a veteran quarterback to complete the new quarterback room and not necessarily open up the money to drastically improve the roster.
Keeping Roethlisberger means the Steelers still have a quarterback they know can make NFL throws, will know their offense and have chemistry with the players on the roster. It will also allow Colbert to focus on this offseason's investments into completing the roster on both offense and defense while the team deals with limited cap space.
When the Steelers prepare for the 2022 season, look for a better opportunity to make a strong push for a new franchise quarterbacks as the team will have a better idea of who their offensive line will include in the coming years, as well as who their featured running back might be.