Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II is open to extending Ben Roethlisberger’s deal beyond 2021.
“Obviously after the season we’ll evaluate his contract situation along with other contract decisions we have to make,’’ Art Rooney II told Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. “But if Ben feels like playing longer, and it looks like he’s capable of doing it, certainly that would be a great scenario.We’re excited what we see from Ben so far in this training camp”.
Roethlisberger, who's coming off an injury-plagued season, counts nearly $24 million against the team’s salary cap this season, according to OverTheCap.com. Next year, the 38-year-old quarterback will count nearly $41.25 million. However, they could lower Roethlisberger’s 2021 cap number with an extension.
Nevertheless, as Rooney II said, he's only open to signing Roethlisberger to another deal only if he’s healthy. This past season, Roethlisberger suffered a significant elbow surgery that sidelined him for the final 14 games of the Steelers' 2019 season. According to Rooney II, he looked really good during training camp so far, which is ultimately why he believes they should sign him to another deal.
“We’re excited what we see from Ben so far in this training camp,’’ Rooney said. “We’re looking forward to what he can do this season. Certainly, his arm strength looks to be as good as it’s ever been. That’s a good sign.”
Roethlisberger will certainly look to prove that he can still play this season after missing nearly the entire season in 2019. The Steelers are slated to play their first game of the regular season on Sept 14.
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