PITTSBURGH — In the midst of his conversation about Ben Roethlisberger’s possible return to the Steelers, team president Art Rooney II continued to stress the need to reduce his quarterback’s contract and massive salary cap hit before such a thing could occur — as though that were a major hurdle.
If there is a franchise that has successfully navigated the salary cap while still maintaining the quality of its roster better than the Steelers, it has yet to stand up and be counted. They handle bloated contracts with the same aplomb as a Vegas card dealer, deftly maneuvering salaries and roster bonuses around to make salary cap hits dwindle faster than winter sunlight.
Finding a way to get around the $19 million Roethlisberger is owed in 2021 and reduce the $41.25 million hit against their salary cap is the manageable part for the Steelers. The question now remains: Is Roethlisberger willing to come back with the way the offense will be reconstructed and play with the players who are left?
That, effectively, will be the question put to him when Roethlisberger meets with Rooney and coach Mike Tomlin the week after the Super Bowl.
They will not be asking Roethlisberger what it will take to have him return. They never do. Despite a misguided perception that some seem to think exists, the Steelers have never consulted Roethlisberger on any decision, player or coach. Never.
They will lay it out for him and ask him to decide if that is acceptable. Contract will not be an issue — not for Roethlisberger, not for the Steelers. In essence, they will be putting their quarterback in a position to make up their minds for them.
“We need to have conversations with him about the end of his career, and we intend to do that,” Rooney said.
Above all else, the Steelers don’t want to be the bad guy in all this. They do not want to be the one to end Roethlisberger’s career and boot their two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback out the door. Roethlisberger’s impact and contribution to the franchise is as great as any player in their history and they don’t want to be responsible for it unceremoniously coming to an end.
If they are committed to having him return, they will do for Roethlisberger what they did for Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu in 2014 — give him a “dummy” contract in which they would sign him to a new three-year deal with no intention of having him play the final two years. They could convert his money into a signing bonus, spread it out over three seasons and drastically reduce his salary cap hit in 2021.
Otherwise, they are hoping Roethlisberger will move on and make the decision for them.
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Let’s put to rest, before even such nonsense has a chance to gain more steam, this notion the Steelers will try to acquire defensive end J.J. Watt from the Houston Texans and pair him with his brothers.
First off, Watt is headed into the final year of his contract with the Texans with a base salary of $17 million in 2021, more than what the Steelers are scheduled to handsomely pay their defensive ends — Cam Heyward ($10.5 million) and Stephon Tuitt ($9 million). Already up against what will be a flattened salary cap next season, they are in no position to add salaries that large, only eliminate them.
What’s more, Watt will be 32 in March, not only on the downside of a highly decorated career, but having endured enough major injuries (pectoral tear, leg fracture, two back surgeries) to miss at least eight games in three of his past five seasons. Those injuries caught up to him this season when he had five sacks and only 14 tackles for loss in 16 games.
Of course, it’s possible the Steelers and other NFL suitors could wait for the Texans to simply cut him, thereby creating salary-cap space. But why would the Texans release him when they know other teams would give up something, maybe even a top pick, to get him?
Talk of a Watt family reunion in Pittsburgh sounds nice. But it is whimsical thinking at best, a ridiculous concept at worst.
