NFL Big Ben's future with Steelers in doubt

While stressing long time franchise quarter back Ben Roethlisberger “did a lot of really good things” in 2020, general manager Kevin Colbert on Wednesday stopped short of wholeheartedly endorsing the idea of Roethlisberger being in the fold in 2021.

The Steelers have 19 players heading to free agency, including wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and outside linebacker Bud D up ree. That doesn' t include perennial Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey or tightend Vance McDonald, close friends of Roethlisberger who have retired in recent weeks.

Roe th li sb er ger current ly holds a $41.25 million salary-cap hit in 2021, the highest of any player in the league. Both sides have taken turns in recent weeks talking about the need to lower that number considerably, particularly with the Steelers facing the difficult prospect of navigating a salary cap that might be $15 million to $20 million less than in 2020 thanks to a significant decline in gate revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compliance will require restructuring some of the more cap-unfriendly contracts and potentially cutting a couple of highpriced veterans, which puts Colbertina tight spot.

Col bert expressed confidence in backup quarter back Mason Rudolph, the short-term (and possibly long-term) solution if Roethlisberger retires or plays elsewhere, though he stopped short of promising to sign Rudolph to a contract extension. Rudolph' s rookie deal expires at the end of next season. Rudolph is 5-4 as a starter and played well in the 2020 regular-season finale against Cleveland while Roethlisberger sat out to rest.