Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert is not committing to bringing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back to Pittsburgh for the 2021 season.
The Steelers have previously made clear that Roethlisberger won’t be back without a restructured contract. Roethlisberger has said he’s willing to re-do his deal, but that might not be enough for the Steelers.
“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “He reiterated to us that he wants to continue to play. We told him we have to look at this current situation.”
Colbert didn’t close the door on Roethlisberger returning, but he hinted that Roethlisberger would have to take a steep pay cut.
“Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of really good things last year. We anticipate that he could still do really good things going forward. Hopefully we can figure out how to do what’s best for the organization and for Ben. Hopefully he’ll be able to see that,” Colbert said.
Under his current contract, Roethlisberger has a massive $41.25 million cap hit for the 2021 season, and the Steelers are about $30 million over the cap. A decision will surely come before March 19, when, if he’s still on the team under his current contract, the Steelers would have to pay Roethlisberger a $15 million roster bonus.