Ben Roethlisberger wants to be back under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers next year, but he will have to renegotiate his contract to make it happen.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II told reporters Roethlisberger has informed the team he would like to return in 2021 and is aware the two sides will have to restructure his current contract. It sounds like there's a good chance Big Ben is back:
Art Rooney II said that Ben Roethlisberger wants to come back and has told the team that. Rooney said that they can’t do it at his current salary and Ben knows that. If they can agree to a contract alteration it sounds like Roethlisberger will be back.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) January 28, 2021
Roethlisberger's current deal is one of the reasons the Steelers are in a tough spot this offseason.
The 38-year-old has a cap hit of over $41 million for the 2021 season. Pittsburgh could cut Big Ben, but the Steelers would have to pay over $22 million in dead-cap penalties. Instead, it looks like restructuring is in order, which should be good for all parties.
Pittsburgh has just about zero room to operate, at present. They have the 29th-most space in football, per Over The Cap. This is hardly ideal, considering the Steelers have guys like linebacker Bud Dupree, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, running back James Conner and cornerback Mike Hilton hitting free agency, among others.
Restructuring Roethlisberger's deal would seemingly give the Steelers a bit more flexibility in terms of being able to retain players at key positions.
The 17-year veteran completed 65.6 percent of his passes in 2020, throwing for over 3,800 yards to go along with 33 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. But Roethlisberger's 6.6 adjusted yards gained per pass attempt was his worst mark in that category since 2007, and he struggled down the stretch of the season after starting 11-0.
There has been some buzz about the Steelers possibly pursuing avenues to acquire Deshaun Watson, though it would likely be tremendously complicated. Instead, it seems Pittsburgh is open to Roethlisberger under center once again in 2021, so long as the two sides can agree to a restructured deal.
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