Three weeks ago, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said there was “work to be done” in relation to adjusting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s contract to offer a more favorable limit than the current $ 41.25 million charge for 2021.
Roethlisberger responded by saying, “I don’t care about my payment this year.”
This statement is an absurd lie and will be tested.
The Steelers’ intention seems to be to push Roethlisberger out of the door, preferably with him “retiring” in the same spirit that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians did in 2011 (but without joining another team).
You remember the Aryans. He just trained Tampa Bay for a Super Bowl victory.
GM Kevin Colbert spoke menacingly about Roethlisberger on Wednesday. Words like “could”, “hope” and “what’s best for the organization” translate into “sayonara”. The endorsement of Roethlisberger’s return was purposely avoided.
Let’s see who blinks. But Roethlisberger seems done.
The Steelers are trying to lower Roethlisberger’s price financially. He owes $ 19 million for 2021. Here he is betting that the Steelers offer less than half that in the hope that Roethlisberger will give up.
The idea is to make Roethlisberger the bad guy by going out the door. If he refuses to accept a free payment cut, mission accomplished. Roethlisberger’s verbiage in the match would probably serve this purpose as well, because he cannot contain himself.
The only way for Roethlisberger to betray the Steelers is by accepting a miniscule offer. It would be interesting to see what the Steelers do then.
It all makes sense from the Steelers’ point of view.
Even with Roethlisberger, Steelers is not a playoff team. It is better to go 5-11 than 8-8 because of the advantages of the draft. If Roethlisberger plays, new offensive coordinator Matt Canada will be able to use a mere fraction of his favorite scheme. At 38, Roethlisberger clearly faltered in the final stretch: in his last seven games, Roethlisberger’s passer rating cracked 90 just once and he threw 10 interceptions. At 39, he will not finish any stronger.
It makes sense not to bring Roethlisberger back.
But after 17 seasons, a career in the Hall of Fame and two wins in the Super Bowl, shouldn’t Roethlisberger at least be honest? If you don’t want it, cut it out. Don’t do this dance.
But this is how the Steelers operate. Always have. They don’t care about broken relationships if it suits their schedule, even if those relationships are with franchise legends. See what happened to Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.
Only one name matters to the Steelers. That name is Rooney.
The Steelers won six Super Bowls. They have 23 players and two coaches in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
There is a statue. It is Art Rooney Sr., the team’s founder and original owner. If there is a next, it will not be a player. It will be Dan Rooney, son of Art Sr. and father of Art II.
There is also a monument to the Immaculate Reception. It is a tribute to Harris’ iconic moment. But Harris went to Seattle in 1984 when he was about to break Jim Brown’s NFL career record. The Steelers cut Harris’ money and cut it. He won 1,007 yards in 1983. Coach Chuck Noll drove Harris out of Pittsburgh saying, “Franco who?”
Only one name matters.
By the way, when Roethlisberger is asked to accept a cut in pay, yinz militantly expects him to do what is best for the team.
When JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool and idiots from the past unleash an uninterrupted torrent of stupidity on behalf of the brand that damages culture, creates distraction, motivates opposition and makes the franchise and coach Mike Tomlin look like idiots, they get support because they are having fun and living their best lives. Why doesn’t the yinz want them to do what is best for the team?
I will hang up and listen.
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Mark Madden Columns | Sports | Steelers / NFL