PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger wants to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2021 season, said team president Art Rooney II on Thursday, but for that to happen, the team and its veteran defender must make some tough decisions.
With the salary cap decreasing due to a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roethlisberger’s $ 41.2 million cap for 2021 is unsustainable, said Rooney.
“Ben wants to go back,” he said in his season-ending conference call. “We left that door open.
“I think we were frank with Ben in informing him that we couldn’t have him back in the current contract. I think he understands that we have some work to do there. We will have more conversations internally, and we will have more conversations with Ben and we will have to know what the limit is for finalizing some of those decisions. “
After the wild card loss to the Cleveland Browns, Roethlisberger, 38, said he would talk to his family before making a concrete decision to return in 2021, but said he hoped the Steelers would want him back if that was what he decided do. But will Rooney and the team give him the opportunity to write his own end to a historic career?
“With Ben, we should have a conversation about how he wants to end his career and we intend to do that.”
To achieve capitalization relief and give Roethlisberger at least one more season to end on his own terms, Steelers could ask the quarterback to receive a cut in pay in the last year of his contract. The Steelers have already prorated $ 22,250,000 from their contract, leaving only $ 19 million – $ 4 million in base salary and a $ 15 million bonus on the list – to work on a pay cut or restructuring. The most likely option is an extension and restructuring that spreads part of the limit reached in the 2022 season.
“I think these are discussions we’re going to have with Ben and his representative,” said Rooney of the possibilities of massifying Roethlisberger’s contract. “It takes two to find that out and whether we can agree on what he wants. We just have to see it.”
As it stands now, the Steelers have three defenders on the roster for the 2021 season: Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and newly hired Dwayne Haskins. But, Rooney acknowledged that they need to add another signal caller, potentially placing them in the draw for one of the reputable quarterbacks available, if they can set the limit to be accommodated.
“I think when you look at our room, we will have to add someone to the room this season,” said Rooney. “We will look at all the opportunities we have to do this.”
Determining Roethlisberger’s future is just the first step in many difficult decisions and discussions for Steelers in this off-season.
General manager Kevin Colbert’s annual contract will end after the draft, and while Rooney said the two had a lot of discussion about Colbert’s future, nothing is official.
“I feel like Kevin is coming back, but who knows,” said Rooney.
Coach Mike Tomlin’s contract lasts at least the 2021 season, with an option for the 2022 season, and when assessing his coach, Rooney said he believes Tomlin will lead the team in the future.
“We will deal with Mike’s contract with him over time in this off-season,” he said. “I will just say that I feel comfortable saying that he will be our coach in the future … In terms of the work he did, we did not finish the way we would like. The playoff game is difficult to analyze … just spinning the ball that way, you won’t win many games. I don’t see how you attribute that to the coach’s preparation. I think the team entered that game prepared. ”
Rooney also said that if it were up to him, he would enter the 2021 season with the same squad the team had in 2020.
“If I had my choice, I would say that if I could have the same list back next year, I would,” he said. “Obviously, that is not the case.”
With the team’s salary cap situation – the Steelers are estimated at almost $ 30 million with 48 players hired, according to ESPN’s Roster Management System – rehiring free agents like Bud Dupree and JuJu Smith-Schuster will be difficult, if not almost impossible.
“It is fair to say that this will be the most difficult salary cap challenge we have had in a long time, perhaps never,” said Rooney.
But the first step in finding out the rest of the list is to determine Roethlisberger’s future.
Asked outright if he wants Roethlisberger to return, Rooney paused and said he wanted him back, but offered no guarantee about the quarterback’s future.
“I think we would like to see Ben back for another year, if that works,” he said. “But, as we said, there is a lot of work to be done if that happens; it may take decisions at both ends to make it happen.”