Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger has been retired for a year now, but that didn’t stop the 49ers from reaching out to him in their time of need.

San Francisco was dealing with the quarterback injury bug last season and decided to give the future Hall of Famer a call after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot versus the Dolphins.

“There were some truths to the Niners thing,” Roethlisberger told 105.9’s Mark Madden on The X Tuesday afternoon, according to SteelersNow.com. “They were, I think reaching out maybe just to gauge my interest. I had discussions. I don’t want to sit here and say I was going or anything like that. They called me to gauge interest…”

Roethlisberger, 41, admitted he still has the passion to play the game, but in the end, he couldn’t truly get himself to follow through with it.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued. I could still do it and prove to people that I could still play,” he added. “At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.”

With starting quarterback Trey Lance out for the season already, the 49ers were down to third-string rookie Brock Purdy to lead the offense.

Purdy’s success eased the quarterback worries until his UCL injury in the NFC Championship against the Eagles, which ultimately led to the team’s demise.

Who knows? Maybe if the 49ers were able to convince Roethlisberger — who won two Lombardi trophies in Pittsburgh — to get back on the field, they may have just ended the season with a Super Bowl ring … maybe.

Roethlisberger, however, is just too loyal to Steelers nation for whom he played 18 seasons for.

“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 said.