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Now that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has emerged from his second round of sexual-assault accusations in two years legally unscathed, he may be saying buh-bye to his job in the Steel City.
According to a report from NFL.com, the Steelers have internally discussed trading Big Ben for a QB who knows how to keep his hands to himself.
According to an unnamed source, the Rooney family — the family that owns the Steelers — “are livid” over the latest accusations of Roethlisberger’s wandering hands and are willing to give him up for a fair trade, or the likely No. 1 draft pick, Sam Bradford, with whom the Rooney’s are said to be enamored.
Where would Ben go if traded from the Steelers? The blogosphere suggests that the Arizona Cardinals is a likely team for the two-time Super Bowl champ.
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At the moment, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is saying that Matt Leinart is the Cards starter — this after signing former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson to a $7.25 million deal to serve as his backup and Whisenhunt saying Anderson and Leinart would be competing for the starting job.
Cardinals receivers have expressed a lack of confidence in Leinart in the past, but ever since he was given the starting job those grumblings have been hushed.
If you ask us, the Cards have too much invested in the quarterbacks they already have, and despite the negative ink we’ve given Leinart in the past, at the very least, he deserves another shot at leading the team after being a good soldier and backing up Kurt Warner for the last four years.
It seems that anytime a big-name quarterback becomes available — or in this case is rumored to be available — the sports gossip-junkies turn to the teams with the least-impressive quarterbacks and get the rumors started — remember all the Donovan McNabb talk a few weeks ago?
Just look at the other team being discussed as a potential home for Roethlisberger — the Buffalo Bills.
If you know anything about football, you know that the Bills haven’t had a decent quarterback since Jim Kelly retired in 1996, and anytime a quarterback becomes available, the four-time (in a row) Super Bowl losers are at least mentioned by rumor-hounds.
Is the Cards quarterback situation viewed as so dire that it’s getting likened to that of the pathetic Bills? Unfortunatley, it looks like that’s the case.
In our final assessment, Big Ben’s not going anywhere, and — for better of worse — expect to see Leinart at the helm for the Cards next season.
