Steelers owner expresses full confidence in Ben Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made it clear that they will not pay Ben Roethlisberger what he is currently owed for the 2021 season, but that does not mean the team is ready to move on from its franchise quarterback.

A recent report claimed some within the Steelers organization want to move on from Roethlisberger. Team owner Art Rooney II insists he is not one of those people. Rooney spoke about Big Ben in an interview with Bob Labriola of Steelers.com this week, and he said he is still fully confident in Roethlisberger’s abilities.

“His arm, I would say, is as strong or almost as strong as ever, so I think he’s certainly capable of getting the job done,” Rooney said. “Part of the concern is putting a (competitive) team around him, and we had a good discussion about that. We know there are still a lot of pieces to the puzzle that still have to fall into place this season, and we’re hard at work trying to make that happen.”

Roethlisberger missed almost the entire 2019 season after suffering an arm injury, so his performance in 2020 was encouraging. While it was far from his best year, the 38-year-old threw for 3,803 yards and 33 touchdowns while leading Pittsburgh to a 12-3 record in games he started.

Rooney issued a statement addressing the Roethlisberger rumors earlier in the week. Roethlisberger currently has a salary cap hit of $41 million for 2021, and he has openly acknowledge that he is willing to rework his contract. It helps for the owner and quarterback to be on the same page.