Art Rooney II says the Steelers always wanted Ben Roethlisberger back, because most of all, they think he can be even better next season.
If that’s what Rooney really thinks, then he’s setting himself up for a shell-shocking experience.
In a chat with fans Thursday, the Steelers owner said the team never wavered on retaining Roethlisberger. They just needed to restructure his deal, which they did, shaving $5 million off his salary for 2021.
“We wanted Ben back,” Rooney said, via Steelers.com “The key to it was to be able to restructure his contract in a way that allowed us to keep Ben and be able to sign some other players. Ben cooperated with that, was willing to make some changes in his contract, and that allowed us to keep him on the team this year which was always our goal.”
Later, Rooney projected optimism about Roethlisberger’s status for the upcoming this season. This is where he got himself into trouble.
“I thought Ben had a very good year last year for somebody that was coming off of arm surgery," he said. "Hopefully, he will have an even better year this year with another year under his belt in terms of recovering from that arm surgery.”
History doesn’t indicate that will happen. Roethlisberger was brutal in December, throwing five interceptions in five games, and losing three of them. He threw four interceptions against Cleveland in the playoffs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster’s return could boost Roethlisberger’s fortunes, providing the veteran with a full array of weapons at receiver. And overall, Roethlisberger passed for 3,803 yards last season — still well above his career average of 3,549. He’s been part of one of the league’s most explosive offenses for the past decade.
But there’s no denying trends. Roethlisberger struggled to throw the ball downfield at the end of 2020, just like Peyton Manning in his penultimate campaign. The Broncos won the Super Bowl the following year, but that came on the strength of their defense.
Pittsburgh’s defense, meanwhile, has only gotten worse.
It’s clear the Steelers no longer think Roethlisberger is an elite passer. His $14 million salary places him 15th among NFL quarterbacks — right above Taysom Hill.
At 39 years old, it isn’t surprising to see Big Ben on his last legs. He’s dealt with injuries throughout his career, including at least two surgeries. Most recently, Roethlisberger underwent elbow surgery in 2019, knocking him out of all but two games.
Nobody can deny Roethlisberger’s toughness, but at one point, the human body gives out. That’s what happened last year: he was the 26th-worst deep ball passer in the league.
And now, the Steelers are asking him to do even more. They’ve lost Bud Dupree, Vince Williams and Mike Hilton, and granted Steven Nelson his release. It may no longer be acceptable for them to win in the 20s. The offense could be tasked to get into the 30s every week.
Rooney is crazy if he thinks Roethlisberger is up for the challenge.