Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert spoke to the media Wednesday and did not give a very strong endorsement that two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger would return to the team for the 2021 NFL season at age 39. SportsLine offers updated NFL odds on Big Ben's future.
One thing is for sure: Roethlisberger will NOT be back at his current 2021 salary cap number of $41.25 million. As it is, the Steelers are more than $30 million over the projected cap for next season – although the official league-wide number has yet to be released. It should be soon, but will certainly go down from 2020 due to the COVID fallout. Roethlisberger's dead cap number is $22.25 million if he were released.
"As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers." Colbert said Wednesday. "He reiterated to us that he wants to continue to play. We told him we have to look at this current situation. … With Ben's current cap number, some adjustments will have to be made. Hopefully there's a way we can figure out what's best for the organization. Hopefully he can see that and feel the same way. There's a lot of work to be done."
Roethlisberger has said he's willing to re-do his deal and said that he views 2021 as his last, best chance to win another Super Bowl. William Hill Sportsbook lists Pittsburgh at +2800 to win Super Bowl 56 and Roethlisberger a +8000 long shot to win regular-season MVP for the first time. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts the Steelers for 9.3 wins for the team's known 16-game schedule – the NFL is expected to add a 17th game.
Any decision on Big Ben will come before March 19 as that's when he's due a $15 million roster bonus on his current contract. Mason Rudolph served as Big Ben's backup last season and is still on the roster, and the team has traded for former Washington first-round pick Dwayne Haskins. Neither of them have looked starter-worthy in their short careers.
Pittsburgh has a handful of key free agents led by linebackers Bud Dupree and Avery Williamson, cornerback Mike Hilton, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, running back James Conner and receiver Juju Smith-Schuster – Smith-Schuster most likely will not be back and SportsLine will offer odds on his future in the next week or two. The Steelers have been linked to signing free-agent defensive end JJ Watt to join his two brothers on the team but may not have the money to do so.
Colbert said that fixing the salary cap mess has to come before any decision on Roethlisberger: "What type of team can he anticipate being around him if we decide we can move forward together?"
Another thing to keep in mind: Long-time center and nine-time Pro Bowler Maurkice Pouncey recently retired, and Pouncey and his good friend Roethlisberger had previously said they wanted to go out together. They looked emotional as they sat together on the bench as time ran out in their wild card playoff upset loss to the Browns. In addition, another of Big Ben's good friends, Randy Fichtner, was not brought back as offensive coordinator.
Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Ben Roethlisberger be with the Steelers Week 1 of the 2021 season?
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it returned over $5,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks last season. The model is also up more than $8,400 on top-rated NBA picks over the past two-plus seasons. Dating back to last season, it enters Week 9 of the 2020-21 NBA schedule on a stunning 83-48 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread. Anybody who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.
