Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Shares Strong Advice On How Pittsburgh Can Re-Build For The Future

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2025 offseason with many fans hoping for a true rebuild. Often, fan bases believe that a team has to get bad before it can get better. A modern example of a successful rebuild comes from the 2025 NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Four years ago, they won just 24 games, but this season, they captured the NBA Championship. The Thunder traded star players for draft picks and built organically, and their approach paid off surprisingly quickly.

However, the other side of tanking is ugly, and it is never guaranteed to be successful. It's much harder to do it quickly in the NFL as opposed to the NBA. Losing games on purpose can damage a team’s culture, alienate fans, and create uncertainty in the locker room. It is a risky strategy that can take years to show results, if it works at all. That is why many teams look for alternative paths to rebuild without sacrificing competitiveness.

Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger recently addressed this topic on his podcast Footbahlin. He explained that you don’t have to do a full rebuild to set up a team for future success. Instead, it is possible to make smart moves, develop young players, and maintain a winning culture all at once. Roethlisberger’s perspective offers hope to Steelers fans who want a competitive team now and a bright future ahead.

"People think that you have to tank in order to get a high draft pick," Roethlisberger said. "You don’t. You don’t have to tank or not tank, lose. That’s one way to get a high pick, but there are other ways to get high draft picks."

In the 2025 offseason, Omar Khan did a great job building a roster for the future while also keeping the veteran portion of the team in win-now mode. 

The Steelers aren’t Super Bowl favorites, but they do have a chance to make a deep playoff run with the way Khan constructed this roster. Roethlisberger’s advice already appears to be in motion.

"If you want to get a high draft pick, to get a quarterback or trade for one, there are ways to go about that…" Roethlisberger explained. "You can also trade and move things around to get a good player in the draft, but again, I am still on the Will Howard bandwagon. I want to see him play because I think he has a chance to be good."

Roethlisberger also pointed out that if the Steelers had wanted to move up in the 2025 NFL Draft, they could have done so quite easily. He highlighted the recent trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick as a perfect example of the assets the team possesses that could have been used to climb the draft board. 

This shows that the Steelers have valuable pieces that can help them improve their position without having to intentionally lose games. According to Roethlisberger, this is a key reason why he believes the team does not need to tank or endure prolonged losing seasons to rebuild effectively.

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Is Not In Favor Of Tanking

Instead, he stressed that the Steelers can continue building and constructing their roster for the future through smart decision-making and strategic moves. Roethlisberger believes it is possible to develop young talent and add impact players while still competing at a high level. 

This approach allows the team to stay competitive and keep fans engaged without sacrificing their long-term goals. He made it clear that the path to success does not require suffering through ugly and brutal seasons.

In his view, the Steelers have the tools and the leadership to chart a different course. They can balance the need for growth with the desire to win now. Roethlisberger’s perspective reflects his confidence in the organization’s ability to navigate this delicate balance and build a team that can compete for championships in the near future without losing sight of the present.

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