(Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images)
Former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor mentioned once again that Ben Roethlisberger should hang it up and retire. Taylor recently told TMZ that Roethlisberger should retire because he'll be setting the team back a couple of years. Taylor made similar comments on 93.7 The Fan a few weeks ago.
Taylor just thinks Roethlisberger has nothing else to prove and he's going up against three young divisional quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, Baker Mayfield of the Browns and Joe Burrow of the Bengals -- all three are rising quarterbacks in the league and are only going to get better.
"Ain't nothing wrong with shutting that thing down," Taylor said of Roethlisberger. "It's hard for a lot of people to shut it down. It's hard."
Taylor has nothing but praise for what Roethlisberger has accomplished in his career and if he's willing to take a massive pay cut, he doesn't think the Steelers have much of a choice other than to bring him back.
If he does come back, however, Taylor thinks Roethlisberger should start to prepare like the seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. Two days ago, Brady at the age of 43, won his seventh Super Bowl title by leading the Buccaneers to beat the Chiefs 31-9. Brady was named the games MVP for his performance, which is his fifth Super Bowl MVP in his career.
“I think if Seven (Roethlisberger) wants to come back, Seven has got to get on this Tom Brady regimen,” Taylor said via Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He’s got to really hone-in in the offseason and get some of his mobility back. In the NFL, unless you’ve got an offensive line like Tom Brady’s, you can’t be a pocket quarterback. They’re becoming extinct right now.”
Taylor also doesn't think the Steelers can't win by relying solely on Roethlisberger's arm. The Steelers ranked last in the league last year in rushing yards per game (82.5) and yards per carry (3.6).
"Seven’s got to change,” Taylor continued. “Big Ben has to tell the offensive coordinator, ‘We need to run the ball.’ Seven won Super Bowls with a good defense and having a good running game. Seven needs to go tell Matt Canada, ‘Hey, bro, we’ve got to establish a run game.’”