PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan)- Longtime NFL writer now NBC Sports columnist Peter King joined The Fan Morning Show Thursday ahead of the NFL’s now “Super Wild Card Weekend.”
But before looking ahead, King looked back to Sunday’s performance from Mason Rudolph in Cleveland. King explained how it may have made him change his views on the future of the quarterback position in Pittsburgh.
“You wonder how many more years Ben is going to play. I don’t know have any idea. I do think that he certainly, at least through next year, gives them the best chance to win.
Although I was pleasantly startled by how well Mason Rudolph played. I had really given up on him as a viable, possible long-term candidate in Pittsburgh but I’m now intrigued a little bit more by it.
It’s to the point where, I know how competitive Roethlisberger is, and I bet he’s sitting there on his couch watching that game saying, ‘Ah I see. Yeah, they’re doing pretty good without me.’ He’s just a competitive guy and he’s going to come into this game saying, ‘I’m still the king here.’
King (Peter, not Roethlisberger) also mentioned that over $41 million cap hit that Ben is going to cost the Steelers next year and how that might impact things for the organization.
“I think if I were the Steelers I would certainly want him to restructure. There’s a very good chance the cap goes down. If the cap is let’s say $180 (million) next year, and who knows what the cap will be, but almost regardless of what it is, the Steelers have a lot of people they need to take care of.
I think it’s incumbent on Roethlisberger, if he can, to help them do that. That’s what quarterbacks do in this league.”