The Steelers have been getting some poor play out of their quarterback as of late. Here’s why it’s hard to justify a Ben Roethlisberger contract extension.
Steelers fans are upset, and they should be. Early in the season, Pittsburgh looked like the team to beat in the NFL. While the defense has still held up their end of the bargain, the offense not only looks underserving of a playoff spot, but it also hasn’t looked much better than it did last year with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at the helm.
Nearing the final stretch of the season, this is the last thing Steelers fans were hoping for. Despite staying upright for five straight weeks before taking a lone sack against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14, Ben Roethlisberger seems to be getting progressively worse. Now, Pittsburgh has lost two straight games, and they almost managed to lose to a decimated Ravens team and the depleted Dallas Cowboys in the second half of the season as well.
Is Ben Roethlisberger the biggest offensive problem for Steelers?
In years past, Big Ben has been the one to carry this franchise. With his physicality and ability to shrug off defenders, he could mask a below-average offensive line – even look very good in the process. However, that Ben Roethlisberger no longer exists.
Now, Ben takes on an appearance that much more closely resembles Alex Smith. All of his game relies on the short passing offense, as the ball comes out of his hands quickly. But don’t let the fact that he’s not getting hit lead you to believe that he has done a good job with this offense. Here’s why it’s incredibly hard to justify giving Ben Roethlisberger a contract extension:
Ben Roethlisberger is not the player we grew up watching
I understand Steelers fans wanting to defend Ben’s honor. After all, he’s arguably the most important player in the history of a franchise that dates all the way back to 1933. However, keep in mind that the Roethlisberger we all know and love is not the same player.
His playstyle has taken a complete 180-degree turn. Instead of having his first reads come down the field and looking to extend plays, Big Ben is a one-read quarterback who is forced to get the ball out of his hands very quickly. Much of this has to do with the offensive line. But that can’t give him a pass for everything he has failed to do.
Ben used to at least have some mobility to his game. Now, you can’t name three quarterbacks who are bigger statues in the pocket. He literally offers nothing on the move at this point and his ability to connect with receivers down the field has been pitiful this year. According to Playerprofiler.com, Roethlisberger is 32nd in the league in both deep ball completion percentage and clean pocket completion percentage. His new ‘old man’ playstyle is simply not getting the job done.
Steelers can’t justify an extension for Big Ben
All of this is to say that it would be incredibly difficult right now to justify giving Ben Roethlisberger a contract extension beyond the 2021 season. Ben’s current deal has him under contract until the 2022 offseason. Next year, he is set to make $41.25 million, according to Over the Cap. As it stands, that would make him the single highest-paid player in the league in 2021. There is no way the Steelers should be okay with this.
Still, there are many around the organization who believe that Big Ben could get one more contract extension with the team in an effort to push back a massive cap hit that is currently set to eat up approximately 23 percent of Pittsburgh’s total salary in 2021.
While giving Roethlisberger another two years could mean that they could save some money right away, he certainly isn’t playing well enough to warrant an extension, and pushing that money is only going to hurt Pittsburgh’s cap over the next several years.
At the end of the day, it seems like we are really finding out what Roethlisberger has left in the tank, and it’s safe to say the meter is running on empty. The Steelers should see if he would be willing to take a pay cut next year before finally letting him play out the last season of his contract in what has been an epic NFL career.