Report: Steelers to restructure, extend Ben Roethlisberger contract
Whatever his role in the recent Antonio Brown may have been, the Pittsburgh Steelers are clearly committed to Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Roethlisberger and the Steelers are set to do a contract extension and restructuring to grant Pittsburgh more cap room in the short-term.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger are expected to restructure and extend the veteran quarterback's deal before the new league year begins March 13, per league sources. More cap room if the team decides to trade WR Antonio Brown.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2019
As Schefter notes, the move will ensure that the Steelers have some cap space even if they move on from Antonio Brown and the significant dead cap money that would come with it. That dead cap money would only be a factor for a year, as was explored here, so that factor combined with a bit of extra money from a Roethlisberger restructuring may be reason to believe a Brown trade is somewhat realistic.