Steelers Rumors: Ben Roethlisberger could be extended again in 2021

A recent Pittsburgh Steelers rumor has them extending their veteran quarterback after next season.

It’s currently the super slow part of the NFL offseason, so there haven’t been a ton of Pittsburgh Steelers rumors floating around lately. However, an interesting thought related to Ben Roethlisberger just popped up thanks to The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette.

Roethlisberger only has two years left on his current deal with the Steelers. But if he performs well during the upcoming season, Bouchette could see Pittsburgh extending the quarterback’s contract again in 2021.

He believes it could be possible due to the fact that Roethlisberger is scheduled to have a massive cap hit of $41.25 million in 2021. The Steelers extending the quarterback’s contract wouldn’t necessarily mean he would be playing for longer than the next two seasons, but it would just allow the team to free up some cap space for 2021.

Could the Pittsburgh Steelers extend Ben Roethlisberger in 2021?

Currently, this isn’t really anything more than speculation. But it is something that should be thought of as a realistic possibility.

We know Pittsburgh is committed to Roethlisberger as their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. It also seems pretty likely that he would remain their starter under center in 2021 as well if he doesn’t sustain any serious injuries this year.

If the Steelers select a quarterback with an early-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, that young passer will still probably need at least a season on the bench before the team feels comfortable using him as Roethlisberger’s replacement.

So barring any sort of injury, it should be expected that Roethlisberger will probably remain Pittsburgh’s starter under center for the next two years. After that? Who knows?

Another extension in 2021 would give the impression that Roethlisberger could remain with the Steelers for longer than the next two seasons. But a lot can happen between now and then, so let’s not pretend like we have any real idea about what exactly Pittsburgh is going to do in 2022.