In January 2022, legendary Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement after playing 18 seasons for the franchise. Interestingly, he got a chance to return to football last season. During a recent interview with Mark Madden on ‘105.9 The X’, the QB revealed that he was close to joining the San Francisco 49ers, as they have made an inquiry about him. However, he decided against it for a pretty great reason.

Notably, the 49ers had plenty of problems last season, as two of their top quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered season-ending injuries. Hence, the Niners were pretty desperate for quarterbacks, which could be one of the reasons why they thought of Roethlisberger.

Ben Roethlisberger almost joined the 49ers

While talking to Madden, the 41-year-old and 2-time Super Bowl winner said, “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.“

However, he could not bring himself to play for another team other than the Steelers. “At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold,” he said.

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After retirement, Roethlisberger has become a podcast host, as his ‘Footbahlin’ podcast has become one of the most popular shows. Speaking about not playing football anymore, he said, “I love waking up in the morning and not having issues with my knees and shoulders and elbows.“

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Notably, the 6x Pro Bowler has been one of the best QBs to ever play the game. Moreover, he still holds the record for most passing yards (64,088) for a single franchise in NFL history.

The Niners found an interesting prospect for the future

While many fans would have liked seeing Roethlisberger back in the NFL, the Niners chose a different route. They gave the key to the franchise to a 23-year-old rookie Brock Purdy. The seventh-round pick showed what he can do, as the Niners went 5-0 in the regular season with Purdy as starting QB.

Moreover, they had a fantastic run in the playoffs until the NFC Conference Championship game, where Purdy injured his elbow in the very first quarter against the Eagles. Eventually, they lost the game 31-7; however, Purdy showed that he has a bright future. On the other hand, there were reports that Purdy may need surgery to recover fully from that injury.

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Meanwhile, the question still remains about Roethlisberger and whether he could have helped the Niners to get over the line. Although Purdy did a fantastic job, the former Steelers QB could have brought some experience in the playoffs. Eventually, they both made their choices, which seems like the right choice.