PITTSBURGH -- Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has informed the Pittsburgh Steelers that he will return to play his 14th season with the organization.
He tweeted about his decision on Friday.
Informed the team I am looking forward to my 14th season. Steeler Nation will get my absolute best! - Ben.
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) April 7, 2017
The Steelers were confident of this outcome, but Roethlisberger's public commitment solidifies the offense for 2017.
After an AFC Championship Game loss to New England, Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan that he would "take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options, to consider health and family and things like that, just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there's going to be a next season."
Roethlisberger, 35, called the process the prudent thing to do at this stage of his career.
The team trusted and respected Roethlisberger's evaluation, especially after he told Ignite Men's Conference last month that he was "leaning toward" returning.
Coach Mike Tomlin stayed in contact with him over the past few months.
"As an organization, we have been hopeful that Ben would return this year," Tomlin said, according to Steelers.com. "Ben and I have had many conversations, and I understood at this point in his career he is going to have to think about his long-term future. There is no question Ben wants to win [another] championship for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we know he will do everything possible to lead our entire team to achieving that goal."
Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is ninth all-time with 301 touchdown passes and 10th with 46,814 passing yards. He's the sixth quarterback in NFL history to throw at least five touchdown passes in five different games.
In 2016, Roethlisberger completed 328 of 509 passes (64.4 percent) for 3,819 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 14 games, for a 95.4 passer rating.
The Steelers have won 32 regular-season games and three playoff games since 2014.