Editor’s note: This has been updated with Thursday’s news of Ben Roethlisberger announcing his retirement. It originally ran on Dec. 4.
PITTSBURGH — As soon as the 2020 season finished, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knew he wanted another shot.
With the Steelers’ season-ending skid and playoff debacle against the Cleveland Browns fresh in his mind, Roethlisberger made it known he was ready to attempt another Super Bowl run. After discussions, the Steelers determined they wanted that too, but not at Roethlisberger’s $41.25 million cap hit.
The two sides negotiated and came to a deal in March: Roethlisberger reduced his pay by $5 million for a $14 million salary in 2021 and added four voidable years to his deal, freeing up $15 million in cap space for the 2021 season.
And speaking in August, team CEO and president Art Rooney II didn’t rule out a scenario where Roethlisberger played beyond the 2021 season.
“It’s not written in stone that this is his last year,” Rooney told a small group of reporters at Steelers camp. “We’re aware this could be Ben’s last year. We hope it’s a great one. That’s as far as we can go with it right now. Obviously, if this is his last year, then next year we’ll be making decisions on a quarterback, and we’ll address it as the time comes up.”
The 39-year-old Roethlisberger made it official Thursday, in a video posted to his Twitter account.
That leaves the Steelers without a clear path forward at quarterback — something they delayed while the organization attempted to build a supporting cast for Roethlisberger’s final run.
Whom might the Steelers turn to under center? There isn’t an obvious choice, but there are plenty of options.
On the Steelers’ roster
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