Ben Roethlisberger Meets With Steelers Owner, Presumably To Discuss Future

Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert sounded uninterested in the idea of veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning, but reports on Tuesday indicate a meeting between the QB and front office “went well.”

“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said last week. “We told him quite frankly we have to look at this current situation.”

Roethlisberger is due to count $41.25 million against the Steelers’ salary cap under his current contract, and Pittsburgh brass has previously noted that something would need to be done with the QB’s contract for him to remain on the roster.

Though previous reports through Monday indicated that the team had not yet made contact, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday that Roethlisberger finally met with Steelers president Art Rooney II and that the meeting “went well.”

Ben Roethlisberger met w team president Art Rooney II today and the meeting “went well,” according to sources

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) February 23, 2021

Although it is unclear what “went well” means, Roethlisberger appears to have two options — restructure his contract or retire ahead of the March 15 deadline.

Could it mean the Steelers and Roethlisberger are making progress on reducing his $41.25 million cap hit to return to the team next season?

The team has previously mentioned that getting a handle on Roethlisberger’s salary cap number is critical if the team intends to keep the veteran signal-caller.

Roethlisberger previously said he doesn’t care what he earns next season, that he just wants a chance to help the team win in 2021.

“I want to do everything I can and made that very clear to them from the very beginning that it was my idea to basically help the team however I can this year,” Roethlisberger said. “I am pretty sure I want to go one more year [because] I think I can do it and give us a real chance [at] winning.”