Ben Roethlisberger intends to play for another three to five years.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round last week, which was surprising to the 36-year-old Roethlisberger.

“Well, that’s fine. He can do that,” Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette on Tuesday about the rookie someday taking over as the Steelers starting quarterback. “But I plan on playing for three to five more years, depending on how the line goes and staying healthy, if I can stay healthy.

“If he’s going to be their guy, that’s great, but in my perfect world it’s not going to be for a while.”

The Steelers rated Rudolph as being in the same category as the quarterbacks selected in the first round.

“I went and talked to Art [Rooney II] and coach [Mike Tomlin] and coach Randy [Fichtner] and basically said, ‘Listen, I can’t control — barring major injuries, barring things at home, and things out of your control — the way my body feels. The way our O-line is put together, as good as they are, they kept me healthy as can be the last couple years. I really feel I can play this game another three to five years.’

“I’ll still take it one year at a time and give it everything I have that one year, but that’s what I felt comfortable in telling them.”