PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger is the Pittsburgh Steelers defender right now, CEO Kevin Colbert told a news conference on Wednesday.
Beyond that, however, Colbert was lukewarm in evaluating the franchise’s quarterback future with the organization.
“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said. “… He reiterated to us that he wants to continue playing and I told him quite honestly that we need to look at this current situation … With the current number of Ben’s ceiling, some adjustments will have to be made . ”
Team owner and CEO Art Rooney II told reporters last month that the $ 41.2 million maximum hit of the 2021 season, which will soon become the 2021 season, was unbearable. Later that day, Roethlisberger told The Athletic that he was willing to work with the team and said he “didn’t care about my pay this year at all!”
Colbert focused on finding a solution that would benefit both the organization and the 11th defender he developed in 2004.
“Ben Roethlisberger is on the team,” the general manager said on Wednesday. “Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of very good things last year. We anticipate that he could do some more good things in the future.
“We hope there is a way we can try to figure it out and do what’s best for the organization and do what’s best for Ben. to do, not only with Ben, with the whole class of unrestricted free agents and with our capitalization 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 have $ 22.25 million against the ceiling. If the team chooses to offer him an extension and convert his base salary and roster bonus into a multi-year signing bonus, the team can at most reduce its maximum hit to $ 27.125 million. While not likely, Roethlisberger could also opt to play for the minimum and take a $ 17.925 million salary cut, but his maximum capacity would be $ 23.325 million.
As the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to significantly reduce the wage cap – although it cannot fall below $ 175 million – the Steelers are firmly in trouble. The ESPN list management system is currently projecting Steelers to exceed the $ 22 million ceiling. The team must be compatible with the maximum limit until the beginning of the new year of the league, on March 17.
“We’ve all had a pandemic loss and we need to deal with that accordingly. And we will,” Colbert said. “It’s not unique to us. Two-thirds of the league is facing similar problems. As we gather everything in the coming weeks, we will continue to look at it.
“It’s primarily financially because we have to be compliant,” he added. “Then we make estimates about what we can do to put the best team together for our sake and for Ben’s sake. What kind of team can anticipate being around him if we decide we can move forward together.”
When Roethlisberger met with Steelers Brass shortly after the season, the group agreed to meet again “on the road” once other factors, such as available free agents and ceiling numbers, became clearer. Colbert declined to say specifically whether he had met Roethlisberger since or when he would meet again to order the future.
“It’s an ongoing process,” Colbert said. “It just doesn’t involve him. He involves the players around him. I’m sure he’ll want to see what kind of team we can keep together in our current situation. We hope we can all make the right adjustments to keep you grouped as much as possible. possible. “
In addition to finding out about Roethlisberger’s situation, Colbert acknowledged that re-signing any of the team’s 19 unrestricted free agents, such as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, given the boundary constraints, would be difficult. But before they can truly assess free agency options, the Steelers must determine the future of their defender.
“Going back to Ben’s 2020, he really did some special things,” Colbert said. “At the beginning of the year, we talked about watching what he was doing, because he was doing incredible things while building that 11-0 record. A lot of things represented him at crucial moments in the games. He didn’t play as well. , but we didn’t play as well around him.
“Can he do any more special things? Absolutely. Did he do it according to his expectations? I think he would be the first to tell you, no. Ben cares about one thing: he cares about winning a Super Bowl. It’s no different. than us. When it doesn’t happen, he will never be satisfied. So we hope that any team we come to in 2021 will be a team we’re not talking about again, losing a play-off match in the first round. “