PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, general manager Kevin Colbert said at a news conference on Wednesday.
That aside, though, Colbert was lukewarm in his assessment of the franchise quarterback’s future at the organization.
“While we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said. “… He repeated that to us that he wants to keep playing, and we honestly told him that we need to look at this current situation. … With Ben’s current cap number, some adjustment will have to be made.”
Team owner and CEO Art Rooney II told reporters last month that the upcoming 39-year-old quarterback’s $ 41.2 million limit for the 2021 season was untenable. Later the same day, Roethlisberger told The Athletic that he was willing to work with the team and said he didn’t care at all about my salary this year!
Colbert put an emphasis on finding a solution that would benefit both the organization and the quarterback that put it in 11th place in 2004.
“Ben Roethlisberger is on the team,” said the general manager on Wednesday. “Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of good things last year. We expect he can do some good things in the future.
“Hopefully there is some way we can try to figure out and do what is best for the organization and do what is best for Ben. Hopefully he can see that and feel the same as we do. A lot of work is needed. is to be done, not only with Ben, with the whole class of free agents and also with our whole cap 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 is cut, he would still charge $ 22.25 million at the cap. If the team chooses to give him a respite and convert his base salary and roster bonus into a signing bonus spread over several years, the team can lower its maximum hit to a maximum of $ 27.125 million. While unlikely, Roethlisberger could also choose to play for the minimum and get a $ 17.925 million pay cut, but his cap hit would still be $ 23.325 million.
As the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to significantly lower the salary ceiling – although it cannot drop below $ 175 million – the Steelers are in serious trouble. ESPN’s roster management system currently expects the Steelers to be over the limit by more than $ 22 million. The team must be cap compliant at the start of the new competition year on March 17.
“We’ve all suffered a loss from the pandemic, and we have to deal with that accordingly. And we will,” Colbert said. “It’s not unique to us. Two-thirds of the league faces similar issues. How that all comes together in the coming weeks, we’ll keep looking at it.
“It’s primarily financial because we have to stick to it,” he added. “Then we make estimates of what we can do to put together the best team for us and for Ben. What kind of team can he expect to be with him if we decide we can move forward together.”
When Roethlisberger met with Steelers copper shortly after the season, the group agreed that they would meet again ‘further afield’ once a number of other factors such as available free agents and cap number became more apparent. Colbert declined to say specifically whether he has met Roethlisberger since or when he will meet again to settle the future.
“It’s an ongoing process,” said Colbert. “He’s just not involved. It’s the players around him. I’m sure he’ll want to see what type of team we can keep together in our current situation. Hopefully we can all make the right adjustments to make the most of it. together. “
In addition to sorting out Roethlisberger’s situation, Colbert admitted that it will be difficult to re-sign any of the team’s 19 unrestricted free agents, such as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, given the limit restrictions. But before they can really evaluate free-agency options, the Steelers must determine their quarterback’s future.
“Going back to Ben’s 2020, he really did some special things,” said Colbert. “At the beginning of the year we talked about looking at what he was doing because he put in some incredible performances while we were building that 11-0 record. Much of it he was in games at crucial times he didn’t play that well, but we didn’t play that well around him.
“Can he still do some special things? Absolutely. Did he do that as he expected? I think he would be the first to tell you, no. Ben only cares about one thing: he cares about winning a Super Bowl. He’s no different from us. If it doesn’t, he will never be satisfied. So hopefully whatever team we come up with in 2021, that will be one that we are not talking about losing a playoff game again in the first round. “