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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger continues to be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But regardless of optimistic overtones from each the staff and its longtime franchise quarterback, Roethlisberger’s return for an 18th season hardly seems like a given.
Whereas stressing Roethlisberger “did lots of actually good issues” in 2020, normal supervisor Kevin Colbert on Wednesday stopped wanting wholeheartedly endorsing the concept of Roethlisberger being within the fold in 2021.
“We’ve got to do what’s finest for the group, do what’s finest for Ben,” Colbert stated. “However there’s lots of work that must be finished, not solely with Ben however with the entire unrestricted free agent scenario.”
The Steelers have 19 gamers heading to free company, together with broad receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and outdoors linebacker Bud Dupree. That does not embrace perennial Professional Bowl heart Maurkice Pouncey or tight finish Vance McDonald, shut buddies of Roethlisberger who’ve retired in current weeks.
Roethlisberger at present holds a $41.25 million salary-cap hit in 2021, the very best of any participant within the league. Each side have taken turns in current weeks speaking about the necessity to decrease that quantity significantly, significantly with the Steelers going through the tough prospect of navigating a wage cap that is perhaps $15 million to $20 million lower than in 2020 due to a major decline in gate income because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compliance would require restructuring among the extra cap-unfriendly contracts and doubtlessly slicing a few high-priced veterans, which places Colbert in a decent spot.
How does he enhance a roster he admits wasn’t ok to maneuver past the primary spherical of the playoffs in 2020 with out having cash to maintain his top-end free brokers, not to mention land a number of?
“We’re making guestimates on what we will do to place the most effective staff collectively, for our sake,” Colbert stated. “For Ben’s sake, what staff can he anticipate being round him if we determine we will transfer ahead collectively?”
That will not be recognized for some time, which makes for some difficult math. Roethlisberger is due a $15 million roster bonus in mid-March, effectively earlier than the draft and simply three days into the league new yr. Any settlement doubtless must be reached earlier than that date, when the roster make-up for 2021 will nonetheless be in flux.
Colbert praised Roethlisberger’s efficiency, significantly through the staff’s 11-0 begin. He faltered a bit down the stretch, although Colbert positioned the blame on all the offense, significantly a working recreation that completed final within the league in each yards speeding and yards per carry. Fixing it’s a precedence no matter who’s behind heart.
“We want to have the ability to end and having a robust working recreation helps groups end (late within the) yr,” Colbert stated.
He made it a degree to reward Roethlisberger’s return following proper elbow surgical procedure that value him most of 2019.
“At first of the yr, we talked about watching what he was doing, as a result of he was performing some unimaginable feats as we had been constructing that 11-0 file,” Colbert stated. “A number of that’s acting at essential occasions.”
It fell aside towards the Browns. The Steelers turned it over 4 occasions within the first half whereas falling behind by 28 factors and by no means recovered. That left a bitter style in Colbert’s mouth. Whereas Pittsburgh has reached the playoffs six occasions since shedding to Inexperienced Bay within the Tremendous Bowl a decade in the past, the Steelers are simply 3-6 within the postseason over that span.
Colbert expressed confidence in backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, the short-term (and presumably long-term) answer if Roethlisberger retires or performs elsewhere, although he stopped wanting promising to signal Rudolph to a contract extension. Rudolph’s rookie deal expires on the finish of subsequent season. Rudolph is 5-4 as a starter and performed effectively within the 2020 regular-season finale towards Cleveland whereas Roethlisberger sat out to relaxation.
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