Ben Roethlisberger Wants to Return in 2021

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger in September. Photo by Jason Pohuski/CSM/Shutterstock (10792540im)

Veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wants to make another run with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021. And he’s willing to leave some money on the table to do so.

Speaking with The Athletic on Thursday, Roethlisberger said that he wants to “go one more year” and believes he can give the Steelers “a real chance and winning.”

“I want to do everything I can and made that very clear to them from the very beginning that it was my idea to basically help the team however I can this year,” said Roethlisberger.

The best way Roethlisberger can help Pittsburgh is by agreeing to restructure his deal, something he is well aware of: “I don’t care ’bout my pay at all this year!,” he added.

Under his current contract, Ben Roethlisberger would count $41.25 million against the Steelers cap in 2021. This isn’t a number that the franchise can afford, especially with several key players being up for an extension.

There are several ways Pittsburgh can avoid this massive hit.

The first one would see Roethlisberger retiring, which isn’t something that the player is thinking about strongly, according to his recent statements. The second one would see Steelers releasing Big Ben, which also isn’t a probable option since he’s considered a franchise legend and deserves a better send-off.

The most likely path that the franchise will take is approaching Roethlisberger with an offer for a restructured deal that would also come with a significantly lower salary. This way, the team would get financial relief, and the player would get one more year before eventually retiring.

“I think we’d like to see Ben back for another year if that can work,” said Steelers president Art Rooney in a separate interview. “But as we said, there’s a lot of work to be done if that can happen; there may need to be decisions on both ends for that to happen.”

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