What do you think happens with Roethlisberger & Steelers?

The dead cap on him is $22M, so I believe the cap savings by cutting him would be $19M.

Looking at his numbers...he needs a million passes to do anything. 6.3 Y/A is horrible.

Cutting him is a no brainer from a football standpoint. When you get into the non-football and political stuff, that might keep him around. And we've seen firsthand how that works out.

have a Super Bowl caliber defense. But they need a lot of repair work on offense, especially that OL (Pouncey retiring, for example, is a hit). And I doubt they are going to fix the offense enough with BR to be a legit SB contender next year.

So I would tell BR thanks for a HoF career and helping us win two SBs, but it's time to go our separate ways. And begin the post-BR era...

should be cut, and I think he will be.

All great QB's and great careers, but "time waits for no one" as the great poet Mick Jagger once sang

With a strong defense and OL...and evethough, Ben is done...they can still win.

There is nobody on this board who is a bigger fan of Eli than me but the Giants should have cut him and let Jones start from the start. It was probably a mistake to keep him the year before but at least that was understandable. But, having a $20 plus million dollar QB sitting on the bench was ridiculous and I blame Mara for those decisions. I think the Steelers are too smart to make this mistake. Ben is a goner.

his arm has any chance of regaining some power. It was crazy to watch him be a dink and dunk passer who got it out extremely quickly after years of him being a guy who held onto the ball forever to look for plays downfield. He actually led the league with the lowest Sack% of any QB, which is a bad thing in this case because it shows how much his game has been forced to change. Unless he finds some magic HGH somewhere that can help his arm bounce back, he's pretty much done.

This is just an awkward situation. Very good QB and future HOFer, Ben should just retire and move onto the next phase of his life. He does strike me as a guy who could struggle post football though, I don't think ESPN or CBS will be knocking on his door. I really hope he stays healthy and out of trouble.

But, I doubt the Steelers move off him. Sentimentality plays a role I’m sure. I’d imagine the Steelers are hoping Ben retires.

I could definitely see them drafting or trading for his successor this year.

Much like the Giants with Eli, there is no reason to dump him without a suitable replacement. It’s not like they had a bad regular season. Yeah it’s a huge cap number but unless it’s used to tie up other key players and you have a plan for his replacement, iOS rode him for at least another year.

Holy shitballs

an old, declining vet in Ben, a veteran backup type like Rudolph or a reclamation project like Haskins.

Take your pick.

one more year. Let's the Steelers get themselves prepared.

They can always leave his deal as is, draft his replacement this year and start Big Ben for a few games before switching to the rookie permanently.

We've seen teams operate under this model...

and I think he is motivated after an awful finish to last season. I just think he's toast. His arm looks like a shell of its former self, and the OC had to install a quick passing scheme because he could no longer keep his eyes downfield.

I happens with almost all vet QB's not named Brady (or Peyton), we saw it with Eli, he started looking at the pass rush rather than the D backfield. I think they'll start the year with Ben, but we'll see how far that goes. Pitt was exposed in the last 6 games, I don't see how that changes.

is to extend him, which is exactly what they don't want to do. Why would he take a paycut? I wouldn't, especially if I felt I can still play well.

Problem for the Steelers is they have a SB roster so they likely don't want to waste a year with a backup QB playing a full season. My guess is they just leave it alone and deal with not really being able to sign anyone of note in 2021.

In comment 15159238 UConn4523 said:

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is to extend him, which is exactly what they don't want to do. Why would he take a paycut? I wouldn't, especially if I felt I can still play well. Problem for the Steelers is they have a SB roster so they likely don't want to waste a year with a backup QB playing a full season. My guess is they just leave it alone and deal with not really being able to sign anyone of note in 2021.

IT really wouldn't amount to a pay cut. His guaranteed money probably remains about the same; it just gets amortized over the length of the deal instead of a $41M hit this year. He may lose a drop in guaranteed money, but would potentially gain if he actually played past this year. Restructuring in the NFL really doesn't allow for a large pay cut.

In comment 15158978 Go Terps said:

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The dead cap on him is $22M, so I believe the cap savings by cutting him would be $19M. Looking at his numbers...he needs a million passes to do anything. 6.3 Y/A is horrible. Cutting him is a no brainer from a football standpoint. When you get into the non-football and political stuff, that might keep him around. And we've seen firsthand how that works out.

I do wonder what they can offer a guy like Fitzpatrick if they cut Ben. No shot Fitz accepts $8m - he played way above that in 2020. If they cut Ben and spend $15m on Fitz that could be a super dangerous team.

I don't think they want him on the team anymore, so kicking the can to 2022 isn't likely enticing for the Steelers, especially since they would have to convert it to guaranteed money. And I don't think Ben would take a paycut for 2021. I guess they can say "hey look, you aren't making $41m on the market but if you think you can be my guest. Otherwise, here's the proposed paycut of X".

I'd expect the Bears to make a play for him (if they can work out the contract). Ben would be a good fit for Nagy's offense, and the Bears are desperate for a transition QB (I still expect them to draft a QB this year or next).

The NFL is a copycat league, and teams like the Bears might think they can duplicate the effect Brady had on Tampa Bay.

In comment 15159159 Gman11 said:

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an old, declining vet in Ben, a veteran backup type like Rudolph or a reclamation project like Haskins. Take your pick.

Draft or you play the kids. At least then you'll get a decent pick if they play poorly.

Going 8-8 or 9-7 and not doing anything next season with Ben is a waste of everyone's time. He only has one year left and they won't re-sign him.

Ben for Foles, if they can work the contracts out. Nick Foles might be a very attractive prospect for the Steelers.

In comment 15159288 JohnF said:

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Ben for Foles, if they can work the contracts out. Nick Foles might be a very attractive prospect for the Steelers.

They’d save $11m in cash by doing that. Overall net QB cap hit would be $30m.

If Jones was the Steelers QB in 2020, they probably get to and lose their first round playoff game regardless. Big Ben was solid but he benefitted from a very talented supporting cast. Once the team started to take on water, the QB was exposed as just another guy. I've always loved Ben's game, but he seemed very very ordinary this season.

Pitt usually cuts guys one year too soon rather than one year too late. Watch this thing play out, it's going to be interesting. Perhaps a restructure and one year swan song is in the works. Pitt doesn't really have a viable QB on the roster that I am aware of.

"If Jones was the Steelers QB in 2020, they probably get to and lose their first round playoff game regardless."

Uh, no.

On if BR is willing to take less money. I don't see it. I think this is done.

Will make a major mistake bringing him back.

They won't win a title with him unless their defense carries each and every game. And that's unfair to them. He cannot carry an offense anymore and there's no Bell and Brown to bail him out. He even wants Juju back and the team won't do it because he wants big money. Plus they have already lost Pouncey. New OC, if Ben comes back, will he buy in, or run his offense again like he did last season? It went no where.

And he'll be back in the saddle

Again, this position is not an assembly line; especially when you are the QB for two SB championship teams.

In comment 15159636 Toth029 said:

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Will make a major mistake bringing him back. They won't win a title with him unless their defense carries each and every game. And that's unfair to them. He cannot carry an offense anymore and there's no Bell and Brown to bail him out. He even wants Juju back and the team won't do it because he wants big money. Plus they have already lost Pouncey. New OC, if Ben comes back, will he buy in, or run his offense again like he did last season? It went no where.

This is my take too, especially Pouncey. That's been the rock in this whole thing for them, in addition to the weapons that are no longer there. As good as Dionte Johnson and Claypool can be, check out their drop rate and catch % - they are terrible. Some of that is likely on Ben, but based on JuJus catch rate, a whole 15%-17% above those too, i'd wager its more on the WR's.

I wouldn't bring Ben back, they are going to struggle on offense with our without him next season.

In comment 15159450 Go Terps said:

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"If Jones was the Steelers QB in 2020, they probably get to and lose their first round playoff game regardless." Uh, no.

I know you couldn't disagree more with this take.

Jones would look a lot better on a much better team. Most QBs would because team play is a big component in determining individual success. Maybe I exaggerated a little bit but I don't think the drop off from Ben to Jones would be that great at all. Not in 2020 at least.

is highly indicative, to me at least, of a restructure coming down the turnpike very soon.

he looked very limited in throwing the football. He was mostly throwing short passes and many of them were inaccurate.Sure his WR's had the dropsies but they probably made more contested catches than other teams WR's.

how much greater Roethlisberger could have been if he remotely cared about getting into peak fitness.

was basically Eli in 2018. Get the ball out quickly. If Eli had that team he goes 11-5 too. Ben did nothing special in 2020 but he wasn't the problem until the team started to fall apart. Sounds familiar.