Today is a day of reckoning of sorts for the Pittsburgh Steelers, in that they should find out just how long their franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended to start next season.

While it is theoretically possible that Roethlisberger could escape unscathed, seeing as he has yet to be charged with a crime, but the league’s personal conduct policy gives commissioner Roger Goodell more than enough latitude to punish Roethlisberger as he sees fit, and it’s expected that the levy doled out will be a four game suspension at the very least.

With that in mind, the Steelers have been discussing the possibility of trading Roethlisberger internally over the past week or so, even going so far as to accept legitimate proposals from several teams, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

At this point, Pittsburgh’s actual interest in trading away Roethlisberger is not all that serious, but that could change if the commissioner doles out a much stuffer penalty to the embattled quarterback, as they can ill afford to go through the majority of their season with either Dennis Dixon or newly acquired Byron Leftwich at the helm, and still expect to contend for a playoff spot.

If Roethlisberger receives a heavy punishment this afternoon from the league, and another club were to make the Steelers a significant offer headed into the start of the draft tomorrow night, a trade could be in the making, with Pittsburgh acquiring the ammunition it would need to get a legitimate franchise quarterback to replace Big Ben.

One player that could fit the mold in that regard is Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who could end up sliding down the board to the Steelers’ current first round selection at #18 overall, depending on how the first round plays out. And even if it seems as though he won’t make it that far, Pittsburgh could move up fairly easily to get him, if they feel Clausen is capable of being the franchise quarterback they’ll need after sending Roethlisberger packing for a new home.

Another scenario would involve a team currently picking near the end of the top ten, such as the Raiders or Bills, who would likely be willing to send their first round pick to Pittsburgh to get Roethlisberger. The Steelers could then use that pick to take Clausen, or potentially even move up higher to position themselves for Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, if the Rams pass on taking him at #1 overall.

Obviously, this is all speculation, but at this point that’s how it works, with teams holding their cards extremely close to the vest in an effort to prevent other clubs from gaining an advantage over them in the draft. It’s doubtful that the Steelers do anything drastic with Roethlisberger, but the possibility definitely remains, making the next two days extremely interesting in Pittsburgh to say the least.

No related posts.