Last month, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said that the Steelers wanted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to remain with the team beyond the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2015 season.
General Manager Kevin Colbert reiterated that feeling during an interview with 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday.
“We all recognize we are very fortunate to have a franchise quarterback,” Colbert said. “He still has a lot of tread on the tires. We feel great about how last season finished and we hope to build on that. It’s unanimous we all want Ben to finish his career here.”
What remains unclear is whether or not the team will try to extend or restructure Roethlisberger’s contract to help them with their cap situation. He has cap numbers of $18.895 and $18.395 million in the next two years, making it an obvious place to look for savings.
The team has extended quarterbacks with two years left on their deals in the past, but Rooney said it wasn’t “automatic” that they’d do so this offseason. Roethlisberger would likely look for a bump in his base salary ($12.1 million in 2014 and $11.6 million in 2015) in an extension, which could make things tricky for Pittsburgh as they try to get their financial house in order.