Ben Roethlisberger is well aware of the old adage that "father time is undefeated," and the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has adjusted his offseason workout regiment to reflect his 30th birthday next month.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Roethlisberger began to workout at the Steelers' facility last week, only a few days after he returned to Pittsburgh from a trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
"That's why I'm working out already," Roethlisberger told the newspaper, commenting on his upcoming milestone.
Roethlisberger said he met with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin when he got back in town, and Roethlisberger's playing future was one of the topics that came up in conversation.
"When I talked to Mike, I said I don't know how much longer I have to play, no one does; it could be two years, three years, it could be eight years. Who knows?" Roethlisberger said. "I'm hoping that I'm just starting in my prime. I've already been working out with (Garrett Giemont), our strength coach, already. I've never worked out this early. It's not like high-intensity, out killing myself, but I'm working out, I want to come to camp lighter than I've ever come, in better shape, because as you get to a certain point, a certain age in this football thing, your body doesn't recover like it used to."
Roethlisberger's training methods might not be the only thing that gets tweaked this offseason, as the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Wednesday that Roethlisberger's agent said his client would be open to restructuring his contract to help out the Steelers' salary-cap situation. Roethlisberger is in the middle of an eight-year, $102 million contract he signed in 2008.
