Ben Roethlisberger officially announces his return to the Steelers in 2017

Since the moment Ben Roethlisberger took to the airwaves following the Pittsburgh Steelers devastating loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, many fans have had their doubts about No. 7s return to the team in 2017.

While most shook off the notion of Roethlisberger hanging up the cleats, Roethlisberger used his BigBen7.com verified Twitter account to tell fans he will be back next season for his 14th NFL campaign.

Reports swirled earlier this week about Ben Roethlisberger meeting NFL Draft prospect Patrick Mahomes at the team’s facility, and most assumed Roethlisberger was going to be back, unless he was cleaning out his locker.

This makes it official, but will likely not change the team’s approach to the upcoming draft. The team will likely now have the question hanging over their head every offseason of whether Roethlisberger will return, or not, similar to Brett Favre’s last years in the league.

This is one of the main reasons the team has been focusing on quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. However, with Roethlisberger officially back in the fold in 2017, will the team pull the trigger on a quarterback if they fall to their 30th spot in the first round, or will they roll the dice and look to add a quarterback later?

Nonetheless, Big Ben is officially back for the Steelers!