NFL Rumors: Ben Roethlisberger ‘Allergic’ To Fitness, Spends Offseason Drinking And Golfing, Jay Glazer Claims
Ben Roethlisberger’s offseason fitness regimen — or lack thereof — is coming under fire.
Jay Glazer of The Athletic addressed a question about the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback’s workout routine, taking the opportunity to blast Big Ben for a lack of offseason focus on working out. As Glazer claimed, Roethlisberger spends the offseason drinking beer and golfing and not going to the gym.
“First of all, let’s not put the words fitness and Ben Roethlisberger together, they are allergic to each other,” Glazer wrote.
“There is no fitness in Ben Roethlisberger. His idea of a great offseason workout program is doing one yoga session, playing golf, and drinking some beer.”
Glazer added that what Roethlisberger and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin have been able to accomplish in Pittsburgh has been incredible, as Tomlin has never had a losing season with the team, even despite years like 2019 when Roethlisberger’s season was cut short due to injury, or when star running back Le’Veon Bell held out for a season.
There could be some personally motivating factors for Glazer toward Roethlisberger regarding the quarterback’s fitness routine. As the USA Today’s Steelers Wire noted, Glazer is known as a fitness fanatic and even owns his own gym. Though Roethlisberger has never had a reputation as a gym rat, the report noted that he will be under even more pressure to bounce back into shape this season as he looks to return from one of the most significant injuries of his career.
“No matter how much truth there is to this, the narrative is going to grow legs. Roethlisberger’s return from injury is national news and if he isn’t at his best when he steps back on the field you can bet his critics will point to things like this as a reason for his struggles,” noted writer Curt Popejoy, who admitted that he believes Roethlisberger goes through more offseason workouts that Glazer is implying.
There is growing uncertainty over Roethlisberger’s ability to bounce back from the injury, especially at his age. The famed draft class of 2004 has been breaking down, with Eli Manning retiring and Philip Rivers falling off from his career peak. There had already been plenty of speculation that Roethlisberger might retire as well after it was determined last year that his injury would be season-ending, but Roethlisberger instead stayed close to the team, remaining on the sidelines during games to help the team’s young stable of quarterbacks to better develop.
