Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert had several chances during Wednesday’s conversation with reporters to stand behind Ben Roethlisberger, who was the team’s QB in 2021.
Instead, Colbert gave lukewarm answers.
The GM told reporters that during meetings with himself, owner Art Rooney and coach Mike Tomlin, he repeated that he wanted to continue playing.
“We told him honestly, we need to look at this situation,” Colbert said. via Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network.
According to his current contract, Roethlisberger will have to count $ 41.25 million against the Steelers’ salary ceiling. Pittsburgh buyer noted earlier that something needs to be done about the QB’s contract to stay on the roster. Big Ben sounds friendly to find a solution that will allow him to stay an 18th season at Steelers QB.
Given Colbert’s deliberate language, it’s possible the Steelers are preparing to move on.
“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said. via Brooke Pryor from ESPN. “He told us he wanted to keep playing. We told him we had to look at this current situation.”
Colbert’s comments are reminiscent of Rams’ GM Les Snead, who discussed Jared Goff before LA dumped the QB in a trade for Matthew Stafford.
If the Steelers move on from Roethlisberger, he will still count $ 22.5 million against their salary cap.
It is possible that Colbert’s comments were intended to soften Big Ben in a move towards a team-friendly solution to the contract. The GM noted that the financial situation of Steelers takes precedence in all decisions.
“Then we make guidelines about what we can do to put together the best team for our sake and for Ben’s sake, “he said. What kind of team can he expect to be around him if we decide to move forward together? “
The door is not closed for Big Ben to return, but Colbert’s language was certainly not as powerful or glowing as we had heard in previous seasons of the longtime GM.
“Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of good things last year“Colbert said.” We expect him to be able to do really good things going forward. Hopefully we can figure out how to do what’s best for the organization and for Ben. Hopefully he will be able to see it. ‘