The status quo will stay for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the quarterback position in 2021. Ryan Tollner, Ben Roethlisberger’s representative, affirmed to Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network that the club surely wants the quarterback back as its starter for next season and the two sides are focused on bringing down his cap hit to additional put a competitive club around him. Tollner added that Roethlisberger was not happy with how Pittsburgh’s season found some conclusion in 2020, which has lit a fire under the QB as he moves toward his age-39 season.
“They want Ben back and will contact me soon to address his cap situation,” Tollner told Kinkhabwala. “As we’ve shared since the season ended, we are happy to creatively adjust his contract to help them build the best team possible. A year ago, Ben wasn’t sure if he could throw again, but he battled back to get 12 wins and the 8th division title of his career. They lost steam down the stretch and that doesn’t sit well for him, so the fire burns strong and there is plenty of gas in the tank.”
The information on Roethlisberger’s re-visitation of the Steelers for 2021 comes off the impact points of a meeting the quarterback had with team president Art Rooney II that allegedly worked out positively. Roethlisberger’s future in Pittsburgh appeared to be in a dangerous situation as recently as a week ago when Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was really obtuse about the veteran’s circumstance.
“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert told reporters at the time. “He reiterated to us that he wants to continue to play. We told him we have to look at this current situation.”
Rooney additionally admitted to journalists that the club “couldn’t have him back under the current contract.”
To prevent a potential divorce, Roethlisberger made it abundantly clear that he would “do everything I can” to get imaginative with his agreement to bring that number down, which Tollner repeated in this latest statement.
While Roethlisberger has quite recently a $4 million base statement and a $15 million roster bonus for 2021, the large issue is his $41.25 million cap hit. CBS Sports’ Joel Corry detailed a month ago that the explanation Pittsburgh has a particularly gigantic cap hit for Roethlisberger this coming season is a result of a move they made last offseason. Around then, the club brought down his 2020 cap hit from $33.5 million to $23.75 million by changing over $19.5 million of his $21 million compensation for the 2020 season into a signing bonus. On account of that move, his 2021 cap number shot up by $9.75 million. As Tollner noticed, the two sides will soon will attempt to carry that number to a more agreeable spot for Pittsburgh heading into an offseason where the salary cap is set to diminish from 2020.
The 2021 season will be the 18th year of Roethlisberger’s career. Like those past 17, No. 18 will be in a Steelers uniform.