The Steelers brought back one of Ben Roethlisberger’s backups on Monday when they re-signed Charlie Batch to a one-year deal.
The team made the announcement on Monday afternoon. It will be Batch’s 11th year in Pittsburgh, which is the second-longest current tenure of any quarterback with the same team after Tom Brady in New England now that Peyton Manning is in Denver. Incidentally, Batch was the first quarterback taken after Manning and Ryan Leaf in the 1998 Draft.
Batch started one game in 2011 and helped the Steelers to a 27-0 win over the Rams. He has started seven games in his entire run with the Steelers as other backups -- some, like Dennis Dixon, with more celebration -- have come and gone.
The question now for the Steelers is whether Byron Leftwich will join that parade or if he will return for another year in Steel City. There have been reports that former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians would like to bring him to Indianapolis in a mentor role to go along with word that the Steelers would like to bring him back for another season behind Big Ben.