Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger may need surgery to "clean up" his knee

From a statistical standpoint, Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a career year. Fitting time for the Steelers signal caller to put up monster numbers as he approaches the final year of his contract.

His play on the field will most likely be enough to get him big money this off-season, but when Mike Tomlin held his end of the year press conference with local media, he announced Roethlisberger could be a candidate to have minor surgery to repair an ailing knee.

It was not announced whether the knee which could be operated on was the same knee Roethlisberger injured in a Week 16 game against the Kansas City Chiefs which caused him to leave the game, but not miss an offensive snap.

A minor operation in the off-season likely won't hinder any contract negotiations, but when talking about a player like Roethlisberger who has the amount of wear-and-tear on his body, any trip on the operating table is never a good thing.

Roethlisberger wasn't the only Steelers player who is a candidate for surgery this off-season. Tight end Matt Spaeth could have surgery to repair damage done from his hyper-extended elbow, and safety Mike Mitchell could have surgery to repair a groin injury which plagued him throughout the 2014 season.