3 reasons the Steelers may not want Ben Roethlisberger back

Recent remarks from Ed Bouchette suggest that Ben Roethlisberger may not return for another season. Here are three reasons the Steelers may not want him back.

Just when we thought that Ben Roethlisberger was set to return to the field for one more season in 2021, Ed Bouchette of the Athletic throws a curveball at us. According to statements he recently made on 93.7 The Fan, Bouchette doesn’t believe that the Steelers quarterback will be willing to take a pay cut – contrary to what Ben had expressed in a statement earlier this offseason.

Art Rooney II mentioned that something needed to be done about Roethlisberger’s cap number this offseason and that the future Hall of Fame quarterback knows that. However, it’s looking like a Big Ben return is far from a sure thing at this point. Here are four reasons why the Steelers may not want Ben Roethlisberger back in 2021:

Unreasonable cap number

Ben’s unreasonably large cap hit should be enough to scare Art Rooney and Kevin Colbert away. Though they could elect to let Roethlisberger play the last year of his deal and have his contract completely off the books in 2022, Mr. Rooney claimed that the Steelers cannot go into the new year taking that big of a cap hit with their aging quarterback.

Another option would be to give Ben a ‘fake’ extension – a deal that could spread some of his cap hit out over the next few years. However, I can’t imagine his agent going for that. If Bouchette’s reports are correct and Roethlisberger isn’t willing to take a cut, the Steelers certainly won’t want him back next season.