Is Ben Roethlisberger still a ‘Tier 1’ quarterback in the NFL?

The NFL season is officially upon us, if you count training camp and preseason games as officially underway, and that means NFL pundits and writers are busy getting as much content out there before Week 1 of the regular season begins in just a short month from now.

There are some practices which are yearly. For instance, the NFL Network’s Top 100 draws rave reviews from fans, CBS Sports releases their own list of the top players in the league, and then there are the Top 3 Tiers of quarterbacks.

Whenever the list of quarterbacks is released by Mike Sando, now of the Athletic, fans want to see where their signal caller falls on the rankings. But before we get into the details, let’s take a look at what a Tier 1 quarterback looks like, per Sando:

Tier 1

A Tier 1 quarterback can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure passing situations.

So, did Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger find himself on the Tier 1 list, or in his advancing age did he slip down to a lower Tier?

Have no fear black-and-gold faithful, Roethlisberger still resides in the best quarterback tier available in this article. See what was said about the man they call ‘Big Ben’.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers QB

Tier 1 votes: 32 | Tier 2 votes: 23

The voting results for Roethlisberger have held steady over the past three summers, but he lost ground to the field in 2019 with Mahomes breaking out, Luck getting healthy and Rivers rising.

“Is he Tier 1?” an evaluator asked. “To me, no, but would I want him in one game over every other player who is not in Tier 1? Yes.”

While some opponents facing Roethlisberger fear he’ll play at a Tier 1 level that day, they did not think he has played at that level consistently enough to rank with the very best. They thought a Tier 1 Roethlisberger would have gotten Pittsburgh into the playoffs last season. Instead, a Ravens team with a rookie quarterback won the AFC North.

“He is getting older and cannot carry it like that anymore,” a defensive coordinator said. “They have to have a run game. He is a winner and he can throw the ball and he is great for them, but I just don’t know if you fear him every week because he doesn’t read coverages like the rest of them. Ben can beat you when he’s got help.”

Roethlisberger has thrown 43 interceptions over the past three seasons, tied with Cam Newton, Jameis Winston and Rivers for most in the league. Rivers brought down his total last season.

“After all those interceptions, Ben was like my Philip Rivers a couple years ago when Philip threw all those interceptions, and I knocked him down a little bit,” a secondary coach said.

Some voters questioned Roethlisberger’s leadership after a tumultuous offseason that saw the Steelers trade discontented receiver Antonio Brown. Others thought Pittsburgh would come out ahead, sacrificing on talent to gain on atmosphere.

“I have no problems with our quarterback calling our players out here in the building,” an evaluator said, “but to do it in public on that radio show, I can’t believe they allow that.”

Who else found themselves in the Top Tier? Check the order below:

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

So, this is the point where we have to ask whether Roethlisberger is still a Top Tier quarterback in the league? It seems Sando thinks so, but vote in the poll below and make your voice heard in the comment section below!