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Ben Roethlisberger was supposed to meet with the Steelers this past week to discuss lowering his $41.25 million cap hit but he never did, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They still have some time to get his high cap figure lowered, as he's due a $15 roster bonus on the third day of the new league year, which begins on March 17. But the sooner they get it resolved the better.
The Steelers are currently projected to be around $22 million over the salary cap. The cap number for 2021 hasn't been released by the league yet, it's expected to happen soon, so maybe the Steelers are waiting for that to occur before they meet with Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger told Ed Bouchette of The Athletic last month that he doesn't care how much he makes this year and will do whatever he can to help out the team. Would he take a massive pay cut to play for the veteran league minimum? Not sure, but it seems like he's willing to settle for less.
The Steelers are reportedly "working through their process" regarding the future of Roethlisberger with the team, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who stated this on Sportscenter via Bleacher Report.
There has been speculation about Roethlisberger retiring being that he'll turn 39 on March 2 and is on the final year of his contract. Close friend and teammate Maurkice Pouncey also retired on Friday, which further's the notion that Roethlisberger might not be far behind from doing the same as his longtime center.
Fowler believes Roethlisberger will be back in 2021, however. "Most people I talk to in that building believe Roethlisberger will be back for an 18th season."
It should be interesting to see what happens with Roethlisberger in the next couple of weeks. We'll certainly know about Roethlisberger's future with the team on the third day of the new league year (March 19) when he's due that $15 million roster bonus if the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback will return.