Steelers' Roethlisberger hints he might clock out after season

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, said on Friday he would not commit to playing beyond the upcoming NFL season, his 14th NFL campaign. “Big Ben,” who turns 36 next March, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an interview published on Friday that retirement following the 2017 season is a serious consideration. “I feel if I commit to anything past right now, I’m cheating now,” Roethlisberger told the newspaper. “I’m looking forward to this season and I’m going to give it everything I have and afterwards we’ll sit down and do some (thinking) again.”Roethlisberger, who guided Pittsburgh to Super Bowl triumphs over Seattle in 2006 and Arizona in 2009, will equal Terry Bradshaw for the longest tenure as a Steelers quarterback entering this season. He said that his wife, Ashley, wants to see him put away his helmet and jersey for good.“It’s 14 years — that’s a long time,” Roethlisberger said. “I think the average life expectancy in the NFL is three years, maybe 3 1/2 now. I’ve been blessed to do this a long time.“It’s just seeing my kids growing up and in the off-season I love getting to spend time with them and then I come here and football season just has to take up so much of your time, even when you get home. I try my best to turn it off when I walk in the front door. I think I do a pretty good job of that but it still consumes you in a way.”Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ starting quarterback since being taken in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, hinted at retirement after Pittsburgh lost to eventual champion New England in the American Conference final last January, but announced last April he would return for the 2017 season.“Being healthy, being able to play catch with my kids, just all those things combined,” Roethlisberger told the newspaper. “I feel good mentally, I know this new study that came out that 90 % (of NFL) players’ brains who were studied had CTE (a degenerative brain disease caused by blows to the head).“There are a lot of scary things and I think my wife would be OK if I hung it up, too. But I still love the guys, I still love the game, so it was right for me to come back and give it everything I have this year.” Roethlisberger threw for 3,819 yards and 29 touchdowns with 13 interceptions over 14 games in 2016. He is the Steelers’ all-time leader in passing yards with 46,814 and touchdowns with 301 in 185 career games.Cowboys defender Moore gets two-game suspensionDallas Cowboys defensive end Damontre Moore was issued a two-game suspension for the start of the upcoming season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, the league announced on Friday.The ban stems from Moore being charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended licence in December. Moore, 24, will be allowed to practice in training camp and play in pre-season games.He will miss the September 10 season opener at home against the New York Giants and a September 17 game at Denver. He will be able to rejoin the club on September 18. Moore joins fellow Dallas defensive ends Randy Gregory and David Irving in being issued suspensions. Gregory was banned for the season for multiple violations of the substance-abuse policy while Irving will miss the first four games for violating the same policy. Moore, who signed a two-year free agent deal with Dallas in March, has 77 tackles and 10 sacks in 49 career NFL games with the Giants, Miami Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks.Broncos linebacker Ray could miss start of seasonDenver Broncos linebacker Shane Ray could miss the start of the NFL season after sustaining a ligament tear in his left wrist that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. Ray picked up the injury just two days into training camp after attempting to shed a block during Thursday’s practice, coach Vance Joseph said on Friday.“He fell on it today doing pass rush but he was already injured,” Joseph told reporters. “He was sore and he wore a brace today in practice, but the X-ray showed the ligament was torn. It is what it is. Not sure when, but it happened yesterday in practice.”Ray, 24, is scheduled to have surgery today. The third-year player had eight sacks and 48 tackles last season and is expected to play a bigger role for the team in 2017. The Broncos open the season with a Monday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Mile High Stadium on Sept 11.