Steelers Legendary Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Questions How 49ers' John Lynch Is Able To Keep His Job After Trading Trey Lance

The Pittsburgh Steelers much anticipated Week 1 home opener was against San Francisco 49ers and it was a total distaster for the Steelers, and their fans as the 49ers dominated on the field and their fans took over Acrisure Stadium. It was an outcome that I don't think anyone believed would happen. The Steelers coming off of a solid preseason were beaten in every aspect as the 49ers went on to win 30-7. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had given his thoughts on the game, and while doing so, he questioned some of the moves made by 49ers General Manager, John Lynch. 

Former Steelers Quarterback Wonders How Lynch Kept His Job

The 49ers have had a lot of question marks at the quarterback position over the last couple years. They had Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback for a while and then drafted Trey Lance with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 49ers traded for Garoppolo and also traded a significant amount of draft capital to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Lance. Despite this, neither of these quarterbacks are on the roster anymore in 2023. 

Instead, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Mr. Irrelevant, has turned into what seems to be their starting quarterback of the future. Brock Purdy unexpectedly had an amazing rookie year once he became the starter due to injuries to other quarterbacks on the roster. Because of this, Garoppolo was not brought back to the team and instead, signed a contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. With the emergence of Purdy coupled with a bad preseason performance from Lance, Lance was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for just a fourth-round pick. 

On the most recent episode of Roethlisberger's podcast, Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger, Roethlisberger questioned the trade of Lance made by the 49ers. He even began to wonder why Lynch is able to keep his job after giving up so much for Lance and trading him for so little in return.

"I gotta be careful with how I say this, how does John Lynch, who obviously is a Hall Of Famer, I respect the heck out of him. How do you do all the things you did to get that guy [Lance], three firsts I think? And a second? And you traded him for like a fourth? How do you keep your job?"

Although Roethlisberger is not a football executive, and there is a lot more that goes on besides trading for players and trading them away, he does have a point. The 49ers gave up their 2021, 2022 and 2023 first-round picks and on top of a 2022 third-round pick to be able to select Lance third overall. He never really played well for the team, as he was the backup to Garoppolo for most of his first year and then suffered an ankle injury in 2022 which kept him out for the whole year after playing in the team's first two games. 

During training camp before the 2023 NFL season, the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for just a fourth round pick. A lot of that has to do with the success of Purdy so far in his career, but the move was seen as questionable by many since Purdy is coming off of a pretty serious elbow injury that he suffered in the 2022 NFC Championship Game and many are wondering if he is able to continue his success into 2023. 

The 49ers played a fully healthy Steelers defense in their first game of the 2023 NFL season, which was supposed to be a tough test for Purdy to begin his second season in the NFL. He didn't have any troubles besides dealing with TJ Watt. The same was said for Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, who faced a loaded 49ers defense who is considered one of the best in the league. Pickett didn't fair as well. Actually, Pickett was dominated as were the Steelers. Maybe Lynch has afforded himself a mistake as epic as the one for Lance was at this point. 

What do you think of Roethlisberger's comments about the 49ers general manager? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation