Category: Ben Roethlisberger

‘Very, very strong feeling’ in Pittsburgh that it’s time to move forward without Big Ben

Contract talks that were expected to start between Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger earlier this month haven’t begun.

Ben Roethlisberger has said everything he needs to say — that he wants to return to the Steelers and that he’s willing to do it for less money.

Roethlisberger and the Steelers were expected to meet during the second week in February for contract negotiations. Two weeks have come and gone, and according to NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, the two sides have yet to meet.

“Nothing has changed since Kevin Colbert was so lukewarm a week ago,” said Kinkhabwala on NFL Network Monday. “This is essentially turning into a really big game of chicken in Pittsburgh where the Steelers are almost daring Ben Roethlisberger to say something back.”

“The Steelers are not in consensus on what to do; from what I’ve been told, there’s a very, very strong feeling in that building that it is time to move forward.”

Steelers president Art Rooney has made it clear that the club simply cannot bring him back at the league-high cap hit of $41 million.

Roethlisberger’s release carries a dead money hit of $22.25 million — $3.25 million more than what remains on his contract before negotiations.

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What does Matt Canada at OC mean for Ben Roethlisberger?

Can an old dog (Ben Roethlisberger) learn new tricks (Matt Canada’s concepts) in 2021?

One of the big questions this offseason — after promoting Matt Canada to offensive coordinator — is what the offense might look like.

Though Canada has experience as OC at the collegiate level, including Pitt, he’s never before run an NFL offense. Ben Roethlisberger, on the other hand, has been running the Steelers offense for 17 seasons. Canada may learn more from Big Ben than Ben will from Canada.

We won’t know what the Steelers’ new offense will look like until the season starts; even then, it can be a slow reveal. Glimpses of Canada’s philosophy stood out early in 2020, but they moved away from it as the season progressed.

But one thing we do know is it won’t be your typical Canada Pitt-style offense. He’s known for presnap motions and shifts, play-action, misdirection — enough to keep defenses guessing. There will certainly be elements of that, but I can’t imagine the playbook will go much beyond what Roethlisberger is comfortable with. Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks, but he won’t want to learn an entirely new offense at this point in his career — nor will the Steelers want him to. Ben will have to do some things differently from 2020, but overall, Canada’s creative and intriguing schemes will be tailored to his quarterback’s strengths.

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Less pass, more run

At 38 and with a surgically-repaired elbow, Roethlisberger should’ve been passing less, not more. But when it became apparent the offensive line wasn’t able to do much more than pass protect, that’s the route they had to take.

In 2021, though, that will have to change.

A tall task ahead of Canada is to get a run game going that was last in the league in 2020. This should open up the passing game and allow Big Ben to get the ball more than seven yards downfield.

But who will be leading the rushing attack? James Conner is a free agent next month and Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels are far from feature backs. It was a small sample size, but Anthony McFarland didn’t offer much in his rookie season.

Does McFarland have what it takes to be successful in the pros? If anyone can bring it out in him, it’s Canada, who coached him for a season at Maryland. In 2018, McFarland put up 298 yards rushing, a 14.2 average, against Ohio State. The week prior, he averaged 7.2 yards per attempt for 210 yards at Indiana.

Pittsburgh will likely take a flyer on a back late in the draft, but it’s hard to imagine whoever that is making more of an impact than the experienced Snell, McFarland and Samuels.

It’s critical the Steelers show a vast improvement on the ground to help Big Ben, or they’ll be lucky to finish the 2021 season at .500.

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Steelers insider: Big Ben’s return to Pittsburgh ‘might not work out’

The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette said on The Fan he’s been told Big Ben coming back to the Steelers still might not work out.

One only needs to look at the looming quarterback carousel set to go round-and-round to know that the Steelers situation with Ben Roethlisberger is a precarious one.

Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston. 2016 second-overall draft pick Carson Wentz will be competing for a starting job this offseason. 2018 third-overall pick Sam Darnold will be on the trading block. The 49ers are looking to move on from Jimmy Garroppolo.

Several teams will be in the market for a quarterback, whether via free agency or the NFL draft. One of those teams could include your Pittsburgh Steelers, pending Big Ben’s return.

Roethlisberger wants to return and knows it’ll be at a reduced salary. But it’s not as simple as that. He’s a future Hall of Famer in the twilight of his career. How much longer does he want to play for? What exactly will that reduced salary look like? What veterans will return to protect him in the pocket?

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Longtime Steelers insider Ed Bouchette, a guest on 93.7 The Fan today, points out that Big Ben isn’t just going to play for nothing. “He said he didn’t care about his salary, but I don’t believe that for a minute,” Bouchette told The PM Team with Poni & Mueller. “They’re going to have to pay him where he’s not going to be embarrassed to come back and play. And I just don’t know if this is all going to work out. I’ve been told it still might not.”

Bouchette added that he has a feeling this isn’t going to go down real easy and said the first indication was from Steelers owner Art Rooney II. “I don’t know that they’re fully embracing his return,” said Bouchette.

Rooney stated last week that the team has “left that door open,” which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

Pittsburgh and Ben have a month and some change to get something worked out. He’s due a $15 million roster bonus on March 17.

Either way you slice it, 2021 is not the season — or any season, for that matter — to be in the lurch at quarterback.

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Ben Roethlisberger won’t play in Pittsburgh next season at $41 million

Ben Roethlisberger’s $41 million salary-cap hit is not feasible for the Steelers. 

In Art Rooney’s season-end call with Pittsburgh beat reporters, he said what we’ve all kinda known: Ben Roethlisberger’s $41 million salary-cap hit is not feasible for the Steelers.

“Ben wants to come back,” said Steelers president Art Rooney II on Thursday. “We’ve left that door open. We’ve been up front with Ben in letting him know that we couldn’t have him back under the current contract. He understands we have some work to do there.”

The only way to potentially reduce the cap number is to convert Roethlisberger’s $15 million roster bonus (due in March) into a signing bonus and offer him a new long-term contract. And, even then, it might not lower the cap hit by much.

Roethlisberger, 38, started 15 games this season, passing for 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Steelers started the season hot at 11-0 before going 1-4 to end the regular season.

Rooney already said in September that he was open to extending Roethlisberger beyond 2021. If Roethlisberger’s intent to return remains and the two sides come to a deal, Big Ben will be back and, possibly, for the foreseeable future.

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Brady’s performance vs. Packers was reminiscent of Ben’s vs. Browns — except for one major difference

A sense of déjà vu flooded over Steelers fans watching the NFC Championship game as Tom Brady threw interception after interception. 

A sense of déjà vu flooded over Steelers fans watching the NFC Championship game on Sunday as Tom Brady threw interception after interception.

It’s almost as if the defense — after allowing points off Brady’s first turnover — said, OK, if Tom’s gonna throw picks, we’ve got to make sure Green Bay doesn’t score off them.

Obviously, that’s the defense’s job, but the task is made twice as difficult when the turnover is in your own territory. Brady’s second and third picks, one at Green Bay’s 28-yard line and the final at the Tampa Bay 46, both found the Packers punting.

Ben Roethlisberger not only threw one more interception than Brady, but three of them were also in Pittsburgh territory and resulted in points. Only the third interception — in Cleveland territory — resulted in a punt.

The Buccaneers defense starting coming on at the right time — the season’s final stretch. And it’s showing.

Unfortunately, for Pittsburgh, as the season dragged on, so did its defense. They couldn’t keep Baker Mayfield and the Browns from taking full advantage of Roethlisberger’s miscues.

The Steelers elimination in the wild-card round is just as much on the defense as it is Big Ben. Whereas the Bucs defense hung tough, the Black and Gold could not.

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Ben Roethlisberger: 2 milestones to watch for today vs. Cleveland Browns

Big Ben needs four scores to reach 400 passing touchdowns, and two to set a career-high.

Four touchdowns. That’s all Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger needs to reach the 400-mark for his career. Something only Tom Brady has done before him on his way to 600.

Cleveland’s secondary is decimated by injuries and players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, so reaching that milestone today is not entirely out of the realm of possibilities. Should four touchdowns happen in four quarters, it won’t be a first this season — Roethlisberger did it Week 9 versus the Bengals. That’s also the night he happened to become only the seventh quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 60,000 yards in a career.

I know, Week 9 seems like moons ago, given the season’s ups and downs. But if the offense can produce a rhythm as they did most recently versus the Colts, only out of the gun and not in the last 30 minutes, hitting the milestone is feasible.

And how fitting and exciting would it be for this accomplishment to happen tonight versus Cleveland? After all, it was the Steelers’ 2007 season opener — against the Browns — when Big Ben set a then career-high in touchdowns with four. Just seven games later, he would eclipse it with five versus the Baltimore Ravens.

But, even with all the injuries, this is a different Browns team than ’07. And let’s not forget, this is playoff football. The Browns are in it to win it just as much as the Steelers.

A second more attainable milestone, and equally-impressive feat, is touchdowns thrown on the season. Roethlisberger put up three scores in what was his regular-season finale versus the Colts, so he needs only one to tie his career-high of 34 — set in 2018 — or two to surpass. And then he’d be halfway to 400, might as well keep going.

There’s a great supporting cast to help Roethlisberger pull it off. Options are aplenty. And the beauty is — it doesn’t matter who it’s to — be it JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool or James Washington. Heck, even an endzone toss to Eric Ebron, James Conner or Ray-Ray McCloud will do.

What’s cool is that should Ben not manage four touchdowns but defeats Cleveland, he’ll have another shot at obtaining the record in the 2020 season in Buffalo in the divisional-round.

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Colin Cowherd rips into Big Ben in ridiculous ‘what-if’ rant

Colin Cowherd, who lives for nothing but to hate on the Steelers, is clearly desperate for more ways to rip into players and the team. 

Here we go… again. Colin Cowherd, who lives for nothing but to hate on the Steelers, is clearly desperate for more ways to rip into players and the team.

Today, Cowherd decided to form a fantasy scenario where — back in 2004 — Ben Roethlisberger was drafted by the San Diego Chargers and Philip Rivers, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

To begin his argument — or whatever this is — he stats how uncool Roethlisberger is.

“First of all, he was never as cool as Montana, Aikman, or Brady. He was never iconic like Manning, Favre or Elway,” said Cowherd on his show The Herd. “He is one of only 12 quarterbacks to have two-plus Super Bowls, but he never beat a legend like Eli beat Brady twice.”

I’m not really sure why any of this matters. What does being cool — or not — have to do with anything?

“Put Big Ben behind worse, inferior offensive lines in San Diego, with an ownership group not willing to spend that kind of money… He got two Hall of Fame coaches, a Hall of Fame owner, a great general manager, and an unbelievable brand that attracts free agents. Just trade Big Ben and Philip Rivers.”

The San Diego Chargers didn’t draft Ben; Ben wasn’t behind San Diego’s inferior offensive line (though he has been sacked 516 times in his career and lived to tell about it). All smug Cowherd is doing is grasping at straws for the sake of attention. He’s certainly getting what his segment asks for — to get Steelers fans riled up — but his topics are pointless and sophomoric.

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Ben Roethlisberger addresses injury concerns in press conference

It should be no surprise that Pittsburgh’s 38-year-old signal-caller is banged up — every player is. 

On Sunday morning, CBS Sports Jason LaConfora published a piece stating that sources within the Steelers organization are concerned about an injury to Big Ben’s knee.

LaConfora wrote:

“Ben Roethlisberger’s knee injury, which flared up a few weeks back, has become a source of greater concern within the Steelers organization, sources said, further limiting the quarterback’s mobility at a time when Pittsburgh is throwing the ball at an alarming rate.”

In the Week 9 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Big Ben got whiplashed between two defenders, taken to the ground, and grabbed his right knee, then left knee. He closed the drive with a score before heading to the locker room, came out in the second half with his knees wrapped, and led the Steelers to a comeback win.

Roethlisberger went on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after contact tracing deemed him a close contact to tight end Vance McDonald. He had a week of respite from practice, followed by a season-best performance of 333 yards and four touchdowns versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to the man himself, father time is the only issue with Ben’s knees.

“I would love to know where [the report] came from,” said Roethlisberger. “Other than having an old knee and arthritis, my knee feels really good…That report, to me, is one of those phony things people sometimes want to make up.”

In the press conference recapping the Dallas game, head coach Mike Tomlin shot down any concerns with his quarterback’s knees. “He’s gotten all the proper rehabilitation that he needs through the course of the week. To be honest with you, his knees weren’t an issue at all anyway.”

It was enough of a concern to keep him out of practice in the week leading up to their first loss of the season versus the Washington Football Team. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger received treatment for an injured knee, which designated him as questionable for Week 13.

As far as his surgically-repaired elbow, Ben says it’s fine. “Typically, this
time of year, my elbow would be getting worn down, and I don’t feel that right now, so I’m very encouraged by that.”

It’s Week 15 in a season where the Steelers have been going non-stop without a bye week. It should be no surprise that Pittsburgh’s 38-year-old signal-caller is banged up — every player is.

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Ben Roethlisberger to Steelers fans: ‘We miss them, especially for this really cool run that we’ve been on’

Wednesday’s game was the first since Week 5 that fans have not been permitted at Heinz Field.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. In October, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that 5,500 fans would be allowed to attend games at Heinz Field. That all came to a halt last week.

Wednesday’s game was the first since Week 5 that fans have not been permitted at Heinz Field. At least lucky fans in attendance got to see Pittsburgh defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.

Players could’ve certainly used the lively atmosphere fans generate in their Baltimore Ravens battle.

“I’ve talked about it for 17 years now that we have the best fans in all of sports,” said Roethlisberger in a press conference on Friday. “In Dallas, it was more than 50 percent Steeler fans. In Jacksonville, 80-90 percent. That’s just what we’re used to. We’re used to Steeler fans being everywhere. When you come home, and you’re used to the Terrible Towels, you’re used to those fans bringing that energy, bringing that excitement.”

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Big Ben said, as a quarterback, he doesn’t feed off the fan’s energy as the defense does.

“I love the fans. I love the excitement, but like for a defense on a third down, you need that crowd to feed that energy, and you just don’t have it; it’s crazy, weird, it’s different.”

“I can’t imagine trying to be a guy like that that really feeds off that energy, but we miss them. We miss the fans, especially for this really cool run that we have been on. It would be awesome to have them in there, but we are still playing for them even when they are not in there.”

Guard David DeCastro added on Saturday, “We’re still humans,” he said. “We have emotions and not having fans there, it’s tough.”

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Big Ben lobbies for WR James Washington to get more playing time

Wide receiver James Washington has been productive when used, which hasn’t been often.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Chase Claypool in April, it was only a matter of who would be the odd man out in the talented wide receiver room.

Turns out, it’s James Washington.

Since his season-high 68 yards on four receptions (seven targets) and a touchdown, Washington’s snap average is just 27 percent.

And why wouldn’t Ben want the third-year receiver on the field more? Washington has been highly productive in the small 23-reception sampling. His 60.5 catch percentage is a career-high.

As for Roethlisberger, his passer rating when targeting Washington is 96.7. It would be higher if not for Week 11 — Washington caught just one of three targets and was picked on one of them. Otherwise, Roethlisberger’s rating is a solid 84 percent when Washington is on the receiving end of his throws, including four games of 119+.

We all remember that critical catch Washington made on a 3rd-and-6 versus the Ravens with 2:36 remaining. You know, the one Ben threw into tight coverage and from the camera angle looked like a certain pick-six. The game would’ve had a different outcome if it was. Instead, the catch allowed the Steelers to run out to clock for a win.

Roethlisberger said in a press conference on Friday that he has ‘1,000 percent confidence in Washington and that he would make that catch. “I wouldn’t have thrown it if I didn’t believe in him,” said Ben. “Maybe I would have put a little more zip on it, make it a little easier on him.”

“When you give a guy a chance to make a play and he makes it, and he makes it over and over, then that man should continue to get opportunities,” Roethlisberger said. “I think he will continue to get opportunities, as he should because he puts the work, the time, the conditioning, the mental aspect of it. He deserves to get on the field more, and I think we will see him.”

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