PROGRESS ON BRINGING BEN BACK FOR 2021:

On Feb. 24, Mr. Rooney issued a statement about a meeting he had with Ben Roethlisberger that day during which the player and the team made a commitment to getting something done contractually to allow him to come back for the 2021 season.

“We have been in communication with Ben throughout the offseason, and we have been clear that we would like him back but we needed to do something with the contract,” said Rooney. “We’re getting to that point now where the time is right. We have a better idea of where the salary cap is going to be, which is an important component of the decision. It just felt like it was time to sit down with Ben and have a good discussion, make sure the lines of communication are open. We had a good, productive discussion, and I assured him we would like to have him back, and he assured me that he wants to come back and play. And so we both left it that we know we have to try to get something worked out on the contract.”

The first day of the new league year for NFL teams is Wednesday, March 17, which is the opening of free agency and also when all teams must be compliant with the 2021 salary cap. That makes March 17 the deadline for the Steelers and Roethlisberger to get something worked out.

“Hopefully we’ll work something out before that,” said Rooney, “but certainly if you want to say there’s a hard deadline, March 17 would be it.”

Rooney also explained that the decision and the work to be done on Roethlisberger has been about his contract and its impact on the team’s salary cap all along. It was not about performance.

“We think Ben played at a high level last year,” said Rooney. “We won our division and set a franchise record for most consecutive wins to open a season, so there was a lot of good stuff. Ben was as disappointed as anybody the way it ended. That last game is just hard to swallow, and I think in part Ben wants to come back and leave on a high note. We’re still confident he has the ability to do that. His arm, I […]

“There’s something different about it. The quarterback-center relationship is unlike any other in sports. The relationship and communication you want to have with the one guy in front of you, you genuinely need him more than anything else. That’s what makes the center position so special.” — Ben on Maurkice.

From Jelani Scott, NFL.com:

The NFL bid adieu to the Pouncey brothers last week, a decision that meant the end of an era for Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

Given their rock solid rapport, it seemed likely that Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey, teammates for 11 seasons, would one day decide to call it quits together. Instead, the veteran center elected to ride off into the sunset while Pittsburgh and the veteran QB continue to decide what’s best for the team come next season.

Continuing his career without the big fella is a harsh reality Big Ben will have to deal with should he return as expected.

“I hate to say he’s the greatest teammate and competitor I’ve ever been around, but at the end of the day that’s what it is — he’s the greatest teammate and competitor I’ve been around,” Roethlisberger said Friday, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “And that’s no slight to anybody else.”

The 2020 Steelers turned in one of the franchise’s best seasons in recent memory, finishing first in the AFC North with a 14-2 record. The team had high hopes heading into the postseason but ended up flaming out early against the Browns. Roethlisberger and Pouncey, perhaps sensing their run was coming to an end, shared a heart-to-heart moment on the bench following the wild-card loss.

“I’m sorry, brother. You’re the only reason I wanted to do this, man,” an emotional Big Ben told Pouncey. “Oh, I feel worse for you than me. I hate it, man.”

In addition to telling Dulac that he’s “still processing” Pouncey’s departure, Roethlisberger shared that the type of on-field relationship the tandem had is among the strongest you’ll find between a pair of athletes anywhere.

“I’d love to ask other quarterbacks who have played with one guy for a long time how close they were with their center,” he said. “I’m sure they’d say he’s one of their best friends.”


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