As his 18th NFL season winds down and speculation ramps up that Ben Roethlisberger is soon to embark on retirement, did the Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise quarterback drop a hint about how he would not want his career to end?

Roethlisberger on Wednesday was asked if while growing up he noticed how the iconic quarterbacks of that time approached the end of their Hall of Fame careers.

“I think the hardest thing was watching Joe (Montana) go to the Chiefs from the 49ers,” Roethlisberger said before Steelers practice. “That was really tough.”

After winning four Super Bowls over a 13-season tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs months before his 37th birthday in 1993. He played his final two seasons for the Chiefs.

Roethlisberger has said in the past he wanted to play for only one team. He wears No. 7 because of John Elway, who spent his entire 15-year career with the Denver Broncos and — as Roethlisberger made note of Wednesday — ended his career with consecutive Super Bowl wins.

Roethlisberger has been mum on specifics about his future throughout this season. His contract will void in February, making him a free agent. An ESPN report earlier this month about this likely being Roethlisberger’s final season with the Steelers did not rule out him playing for a different team next season but instead termed it “highly unlikely.”

If he does not play for another team, Roethlisberger would become the only quarterback in NFL history to play an entire career of at least 18 seasons with one team.

With 27 passing yards Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, Roethlisberger would move into fifth place all-time in that category. He needs five touchdown passes to tie Dan Marino for seventh all-time.

“I have too much respect for Ben and the Pittsburgh Steelers to go down on some ‘obituary’ or some retirement speech,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said during a conference call with Pittsburgh media Wednesday. “This guy is a Hall of Fame quarterback that we’re trying to prepare for who has been fantastic when the games have been on the line.”

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