Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, Joey Porter elected to Steelers' Hall of Honor

Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey will get to have one more center-quarterback exchange.

Roethlisberger and Pouncey were elected to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hall of Honor on Saturday along with linebacker Joey Porter.

The trio will be recognized at the Dec. 15 game between the Steelers and Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium. The official induction ceremony and dinner will take place Dec. 14.

Roethlisberger and Pouncey were teammates from 2010-20 and developed a close bond. The franchise quarterback and decorated center were multi-time offensive captains throughout the decade.

“They’re excited about being in together,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said. “When I called Ben, he was actually the first one I got this week to give him the word. The first thing he said, who are the other ones? I said I can’t tell you yet because I haven’t talked to them.

“I think he was hoping one of them would be Maurkice. They are excited to go in together, for sure.”

Porter was the only one of the three to attend the Hall of Honor announcement at the Fred Rogers Center on the Saint Vincent campus. He was a four-time captain with the Steelers.

“These three guys made a difference for us over the course of their careers,” Rooney said. “This group is a pretty special group and belongs in with the rest of them.”

Roethlisberger, who owns virtually every franchise passing record, played in three Super Bowls and won two. He was selected for the Hall of Honor in his first year of eligibility.

“It was a no-brainer, for sure,” Rooney II said.

Rooney realized in Roethlisberger’s fourth career start, a 24-20 win at Dallas in 2004, that the organization had something special in their first-round draft pick. Roethlisberger completed 21 of 25 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

“He had been playing well, but in that game you could just see him becoming what we were hoping for,” Rooney said. “Jerry Jones saw me a few weeks later and said, ‘You’ve got a quarterback.’ ”

Roethlisberger was part of the Super Bowl XL championship team a year later. He led the Steelers to their sixth championship when his touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left provided a 27-23 victory against Arizona.

Porter also was a Super Bowl champion, helping the franchise earn the “One for the Thumb” ring after the 2005 season.

“Joey was the spiritual leader the whole way through,” Rooney II said. “He was a great leader and an inspiration to the whole team that year.”

Roethlisberger was in his second season in 2005, and Jerome Bettis was in his last when the Steelers reeled off four consecutive wins to make the playoffs and then won four more in the postseason. Porter was the defensive leader and resident trash talker. His verbal sparring with Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens removed some of the pressure from Bettis and Roethlisberger.

“I wasn’t just the captain,” Porter said, “I was the enforcer of certain things about how we played football and how we should be treated.”

Roethlisberger is the NFL’s fifth all-time passing yardage leader, throwing for 64,088 yards. He also ranks third with 41 fourth-quarter comebacks. His 53 game-winning drives also are tied for third most in NFL history.

Roethlisberger concluded an 18-year career with the Steelers in 2021. He retired a year after Pouncey hung up his cleats following an 11-year career. Pouncey was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and was picked to the first-team AP All-Pro team twice. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in every season he was healthy, and he was the first center in NFL history to be picked in each of his first three years.

Pouncey, as a rookie center, was a member of the Steelers team that lost Super Bowl XLV to Green Bay. He was injured and did not play in that title game.

Pouncey was named team captain four times, including each of his final three seasons.

“Consistency is the first thing that comes to mind,” Rooney said. “Plug him in, and you didn’t have to worry about it for the next decade. He was someone Ben relied on to make sure the offensive line got the job done.”

Pouncey is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next season. Roethlisberger’s first year of eligibility is 2027.

Porter played for the Steelers from 1999-2006. He played three more seasons with the Miami Dolphins and two with the Arizona Cardinals. He had 60 of his career 98 sacks with the Steelers.

“Even when I was in Arizona and Miami … I was always hoping I would get a chance to come back and put (the uniform) on and finish there in a different role,” said Porter, who later returned to the Steelers as an assistant coach. “I never wanted to leave. It’s Pittsburgh. I fit the city. I fit the style we wanted to play.”

Porter’s selection coincided with his son’s 25th birthday. Joey Porter Jr. is entering his third season with the Steelers.

Porter knew what was at stake when he joined the Steelers in 1999. He was tasked with following in the footsteps of pass rushers Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene. And he preceded James Harrison and T.J. Watt as star outside linebackers.

“When you come to Pittsburgh and play outside linebacker, it’s guaranteed someone before you was the baddest man on the planet,” Porter said. “That is the legacy you walk into when you get here.”