The Steelers have failed to meet expectations in recent years. Here’s why Pittsburgh has already held onto Ben Roethlisberger for too long.
I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but I remember being one of the only writers who thought that the Steelers needed to trade Antonio Brown months before he sabotaged his trade value. Instead of parting ways with him when he could have netted the Steelers more than a first-round pick, Pittsburgh waited until it was too late. Now, they may have already done the same thing with Ben Roethlisberger.
While Big Ben doesn’t have a laundry list of off-the-field issues attached to his name (though he does have a bit of a checkered past), I was not a fan at all of giving him his last $91 million extensions that would see him sticking around until he is nearly 40 years old. Here are five reasons why the Steelers may have already held on to Ben Roethlisberger too long:
Decline in play
The first thing we can point to is the steady and consistent decline in play over the past several years. While his 2019 season was null and void after seeing the field for just a game-and-a-half, Roethlisberger’s numbers have dipped since the 2018 season – specifically his efficiency.
Though Ben did lead the league in passing yards three seasons ago, he also led in interceptions and interceptable passes. In addition, he hasn’t passed for more than 7.5 yards per attempt since the 2016 season and that number dipped to its lowest mark in his 17-year career in 2020 (6.6). Don’t let the 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio fool you, Ben was not efficient last year and the arrow is pointed down.
Too much money
I know how the salary cap works. The $41.25 million isn’t how much Roethlisberger is earning in 2020, rather he is set to earn just $19 million of that. However, people forget about the contract restructure and what he has already made under his most recent extension.
When it’s all said and done, Ben Roethlisberger will be earning $34.0 million per season from 2019 to 2021 (assuming he plays this year). This makes him the 4th-highest-paid player in the National Football League in terms of yearly value, and thanks to a restructure, he has the single highest cap charge in the league this year.
Even when the Steelers offered him this extension when he was two years younger, we knew that by doing so, they were overpaying for his past accomplishments – not the player they thought he would be in the future. Now, the money situation is really coming back to haunt Pittsburgh, and they could be losing upwards of a dozen unrestricted free agents to opposing teams this offseason. Ben hasn’t been worth half of the contract extension he signed, and we are starting to feel the effects of this bad deal.
Ben’s unwillingness to change with the times
Ben Roethlisberger was said to have had a hand in the hiring of Randy Fichtner when Todd Haley was fired. Everyone knew that Haley and Big Ben didn’t get along very well, and the star quarterback wanted an offensive coordinator that would cater to what he wanted to do on the field.
Recently, the Steelers hired an innovative offensive mind in Matt Canada to fill the void, but Ben’s unwillingness to change with the times could prove to be another reason why Pittsburgh has held on to their aging quarterback too long. Canada’s blueprint could be seen on the Steelers offense early in the season as they constantly used pre-snap motion to catch the defense off guard, but that was practically phased by the second half of the season, and Ben was vocal that he didn’t like the confusion before the snap or going under center.
By caving to Ben’s commands, Pittsburgh’s offense fell flat and became one of the most inefficient units in the league over the last six games of the regular season – averaging just 19.6 points per game over that span. Roethlisberger has shown that he is unwilling to change with the times, and he has handicapped the offense as a result.
Results have been underwhelming
When things are going right, it seems like Ben Roethlisberger receives a large portion of the credit, but when things go wrong, the blame seems to be passed along to the offensive coordinator or someone else entirely.
Roethlisberger has done a lot of good things in recent years. While many fans want to believe that he was the reason this team started off 11-0 last year (the best start in the history of the franchise), Ben was clearly just a game-manager at this point as evidenced by his 32nd ranked passing yards per attempt. In fact, this is essentially the same team that saw 8 wins with dreadful quarterback play just a season prior, thanks to a terrific defensive unit.
Late in the season, when things matter most, Big Ben hasn’t shown up. He has a record of just 4-7 from Week 12 on since 2018. In addition, his last two playoff games have been embarrassingly bad as he has combined for 6 turnovers (5 interceptions, 1 lost fumble) in his last two playoff contests. In both his 2017 loss to the Jaguars and his 2020 loss to the Browns, Ben has turned the ball over very early in both games and allowed his opponent to jump off to huge early leads.
Ben hasn’t won a single playoff game since 2016 and there’s no reason to believe the Steelers chances will improve in his old age.
Delaying a rebuild for Steelers
Finally, one of the biggest reasons that signs that the Steeles have held onto Ben Roethlisberger for too long is that he has been delaying a rebuild. Every move Pittsburgh seems to make – whether financially, in free agency, or in the draft – seems to revolve around what is best for Ben Roethlisberger.
Pittsburgh has had opportunities to nab talented quarterbacks in recent years. They even passed on an opportunity to draft Lamar Jackson with the 28th overall pick in favor of filling a current need at safety with Terrell Edmunds.
The Steelers have invested fewer resources than any team in the league at the quarterback position over the past fifteen years, and they haven’t made any effort to looks towards the future yet. Building a team around Roethlisberger may have caused them to pass on making a move for a talented franchise quarterback over the past few years, and they don’t have a quality option in place if Ben is done.
At the end of the day, I’m certainly not going to complain about the dominant career that Ben Roethlisberger had, but I was opposed to his last contract extension and nothing about his play has changed my mind. It’s time for the Steelers to look towards the future and start doing what is best for the franchise.