Ben Roethlisberger clarifies 49ers interest story, can envision Aaron Rodgers with team

Last month, retired NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made headlines when he revealed that the San Francisco 49ers reached out after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in December. Obviously, nothing came of the exchange, and the Niners moved forward with rookie Brock Purdy, who guided the team to the NFC Championship Game.

This week, on the Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger clarified how much contact he had with the Bay Area team.

“I’ll reiterate. It was them calling my agent just to gauge interest,” Roethlisberger said, per CBS Sports. “They called, but again, I’ll reiterate, It was gauging interest.”

It sounds like nothing went further than that. It was just the 49ers doing their due diligence, looking at all options in case they decided to add an experienced veteran for their playoff push. It doesn’t sound like Roethlisberger had any conversations with team decision-makers himself.

In March, Roethlisberger admitted that the idea of joining a stacked and likely playoff-bound roster like San Francisco’s was intriguing.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued, like, ‘Oh man, I could still do it,’ and prove to people that I could still play,” Roethlisberger said in March during a conversation on 105.9 The X. “At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.

“Even though they had a great chance, I think, to win a Super Bowl, it would’ve been hard for me to go try and win a Super Bowl anywhere else but here.”

Roethlisberger also weighed in on the report that the 49ers might be interested in Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers if a deal to send him to the New York Jets falls through. The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback can envision a Rodgers-to-49ers scenario.

“I know he’s been mentioned with them before,” Roethlisberger said on the recent podcast. “I could see it happening. They’ve got a great team, great defense, got a lot of weapons. He likes the boots under center, getting out, moving. He’d be great in that offense, obviously.”