3 takeaways from Ben Roethlisberger’s new contract
Well, Ben’s back. I don’t know that it was ever much of a question despite the riddles from Steelers president Art Rooney and general manager Kevin Colbert on the topic.
Whether you wanted him back or not, we all knew it was coming — it was just a matter of when and at what salary.
Now that we know, here are three takeaways from Roethlisberger’s new deal.
Mo' money
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Though some think the most admirable thing for Ben to do was retire, he did the next best thing and agreed to a pay cut to better the team. Kevin Colbert and staff are, relievingly, under the cap with Roethlisberger's new contract. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal saves the team $15 million in cap space -- something they desperately needed. The Steelers have some breathing room but will still need to restructure other players' contracts and cut some players.
Super Bowl?
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It's not official, but all signs point to 2021 being Ben Roethlisberger's last season in the NFL. When the Steelers won Super Bowl 40 in 2006, the team knew it would be running back Jerome Bettis' final season. Getting Bettis that ring was part of the inspiration that helped Pittsburgh win its fifth Lombardi Trophy after entering the postseason as the sixth seed. The Steelers have a ton of work ahead to be a Super Bowl contender, but their chances are a heck of a lot better than it would've with Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins at the helm.
Future at QB tougher to predict
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Speaking of Rudolph and Haskins, the sample size to judge them for a future with the team will be small (presumably Josh Dobbs leaves in free agency). Both Rudolph and Haskins will be pending free agents after this upcoming season and (hopefully) won't get much playing time. Rudolph is the most experienced, but we have yet to really see if he's the better of the two. Haskins could very well end up being a different QB than he was in Washington.
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