PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger is the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback right now, CEO Kevin Colbert said at a news conference Wednesday.
Beyond that, however, Colbert was lukewarm in his assessment of the future of the franchised quarterback with the organization.
“While we’re sitting here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said. “… He reiterated to us that he wants to keep playing, and we told him frankly that we should look at this current situation … With Ben’s current limit number, some adjustments will have to be made.”
Team owner and CEO Art Rooney II told reporters last month that the $ 41.2 million limit for the 2021 season of the future 39-year-old quarterback was unsustainable. Later that day, Roethlisberger told Athletic he was willing to work with the team and said he “wouldn’t mind anything about my pay this year.”
Colbert emphasized finding a solution that would benefit both the organization and the quarterback who drafted eleventh overall in 2004.
“Ben Roethlisberger is on the team,” the general manager said Wednesday. “Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of really good things last year. We anticipate he could still do some good things in the future.
“We hope there’s a way to try to figure out and do what’s best for the organization and do what’s best for Ben. We hope he can see it and feel the same way we do. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, not just with Ben, with the whole class of unrestricted free agents and with our whole borderline situation. “
Colbert said the assessment of Roethlisberger’s future with the organization begins with the financial situation for the 2021. Season. If Roethlisberger retires or cuts, he will still count $ 22.25 million against the limit. If the team chooses to give it an extension and convert the base salary and staff bonus into a signature bonus spread over several years, the maximum the team can reduce its maximum limit is $ 27,125 million. While unlikely, Roethlisberger could also choose to play to the bare minimum and achieve a $ 17,925 million pay cut, but his limit reached would be $ 23,325 million.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to significantly lower the wage cap, even though it may not fall below $ 175 million, the Steelers have a firm cap. ESPN’s template management system currently projects the Steelers to exceed the $ 22 million limit. The team will have to meet the limit before the start of the new league year on March 17th.
“We’ve all suffered a loss because of the pandemic and we have to deal with that accordingly. And we will,” Colbert said. “It’s not exclusive to us. Two-thirds of the league are facing similar problems. As all of this comes together in the coming weeks, we will continue to look at it.
“It’s mostly financially because we have to meet it,” he added. “Then we’re making estimates about what we can do to unite the best team for our own good and for Ben’s sake. What kind of team can anticipate around him if we decide we can move forward together.”
When Roethlisberger met with Steelers Brass shortly after the season, the group agreed that they would meet again “along the way” once some other factors, such as available free agents and the limit number, became clearer. Colbert declined to say specifically whether he has met with Roethlisberger since or when he will meet again to resolve the future.
“It’s an ongoing process,” Colbert said. “It just doesn’t involve it. It involves the players around it. I’m sure you’ll want to see what kind of team we can keep together in our current situation. Hopefully we can all make the right adjustments to keep the group together as much as possible. possible “.
In addition to finding out about Roethlisberger’s situation, Colbert admitted that re-signing any of the team’s 19 unrestricted free agents, such as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, given the limitations of the limit will be difficult. But before they can really evaluate free agency options, the Steelers need to determine their quarterback’s future.
“Going back to Ben 2020, he really did some special things,” Colbert said. “At the beginning of the year, we talked about seeing what he was doing because he was doing amazing feats as we built that 11-0 record. A lot of that was acting at crucial moments in the games. He didn’t play that well, but we didn’t. play so well around you.
“Can you do some special things? Absolutely. Did he do it according to your expectations? I think he’d be the first to tell you no. Ben cares about one thing: he cares about winning a Super Bowl. It’s no different When that doesn’t happen , he will never feel satisfied. So hopefully whatever team we come up with in 2021, this will be a team that again we are not talking about losing a first round playoff game. “