While I seriously doubt that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger pays much attention to the daily NFL transaction wire, if he should happen to glance at it on Thursday he’ll likely let loose a fist pump.
Why? Well, he’ll no longer have to see his personal kryptonite wearing a Cincinnati Bengals uniform as of Thursday as free agent safety Reggie Nelson has come to terms on a two-year contract worth up $12 million with the Oakland Raiders.
Nelson, in case you forgot, has picked off Roethlisberger a total of six times during the two player’s careers with three of those coming just last season. Nelson, by the way, only has 30 career interceptions.
Nelson is also known for being the player who hit Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell very low during the 2014 regular-season finale between the two teams. That hit resulted in Bell suffering a hyperextended knee that prevented him from playing in the playoffs that year. Additionally, Nelson was the Bengals player who had a sideline altercation with Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak last year in last year’s AFC Wildcard game between the two teams.
Being as Nelson is already 32 years of age, there’s a good chance that Roethlisberger has now faced him for the last time barring the Raiders playing the Steelers in the playoffs in either of the next two seasons. The only other possible way that the two will face-off in the future will be if the Raiders wind up being the lone AFC West team that the Steelers are scheduled to play in 2017. However, for that to happen, both teams would need to finish in identical places in their respective divisions in 2016.
A few weeks ago, cornerback Rashean Mathis decided to retire after his long career and he did so having registered 5 total interceptions against Roethlisberger including the playoffs. Needless to say, it’s been a great offseason for Roethlisberger so far when it comes to the NFL transaction wire.
