The AFC North could look quite a bit different from a Cincinnati Bengals perspective in 2021.
Mostly thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Those Steelers are in something of a salary cap crisis, in large part thanks to the heavyweight contract of one Ben Roethlisberger.
That’s something heavy on the mind of the team, clearly, as Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor the following this week: “As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. … He reiterated to us that he wants to continue to play. We told him we have to look at this current situation.”
As of now, the Steelers are projected at $14 million over the 2021 cap and need to free up space. Big Ben’s $41.25 million cap hit comes with $22.25 in dead cash, which is a big issue:
In the event that Ben Roethlisberger is not with the Steelers in 2021, he'll still count for $22.25M against their cap.
On his current deal, he's set to count $41.25M.
As both sides have acknowledged, a return would need a restructured deal that brings that number down.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 17, 2021
Interestingly, Colbert also said he doubts the team can pay up franchise player Bud Dupree, too, whether it be via another tag or extension.
Of course, teams wiggle out of bad-looking cap situations all the time. Big Ben has said he wanted to keep playing and sounded open to an extension, but things can change fast.
As it stands, the Steelers could very well go into next season with Mason Rudolph as the starter under center. That, or a groundswell of cap problems that hamper the team all offseason as they try to delay a rebuild.
Either way, the Bengals seem to be on the upswing in the division with Joe Burrow at just the right time.
