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Ben Roethlisberger signs with Pittsburgh Steelers for 2021 NFL season

slashsteel

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Hyperbolize much? No, those valuable free agents weren't supposed to play for the league minimum. But Ben sure could have. Or he could have played for $5 million. Or $10 million. Or he could have simply retired.

Neither you nor anyone else have been able to explain why Ben would say what he said, then go on to accept $14 million. Sell me your thought process on how playing for that figure did everything to help the team. Sell me on how somebody can supposedly not care about his salary, then turn around and take another bonus check for almost 13 million dollars.

Here's a hint: You can't.
I am happy with his approach obviously you aren't. What QB has played for the league minimum? Here is a hint there isn't one. I think you are being a little unrealistic in your wants of Ben. My thought process is he did enough and the Steelers didn't. So you heard of how popular Tomlin is with players on and off the team right? Why didn't he do more to influence those free agents to stay? Sounds silly doesn't it? Just as silly as thinking Ben should have influenced them to take a lot less. He isn't a GM. He isn't responsible for any approach they take. In fact the FO is the one who layed out Ben's contract in which was acceptable to them. They could have released Ben ultimately right?
 

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We aren't kicking the can when we are over $100M under the cap next year, and that includes 51 rostered players.
Correction: 22 players are signed. Still doesn't account for drafted/undrafted players and FA pickups. New signings are not listed yet like Zach Banner. We'll know better for next year's makeup after the draft. Good year for young players to make the team for next year.
 

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I am happy with his approach obviously you aren't. What QB has played for the league minimum? Here is a hint there isn't one. I think you are being a little unrealistic in your wants of Ben. My thought process is he did enough and the Steelers didn't. So you heard of how popular Tomlin is with players on and off the team right? Why didn't he do more to influence those free agents to stay? Sounds silly doesn't it? Just as silly as thinking Ben should have influenced them to take a lot less. He isn't a GM. He isn't responsible for any approach they take. In fact the FO is the one who layed out Ben's contract in which was acceptable to them. They could have released Ben ultimately right?


To many here and in public want to blame BEN for everything and that includes tings out of his control. BEN & FO negotiated a very friendly contract that both are happy with and yet BEN is over priced and should be working for way less. Then he gets blamed for FAs leaving, like he let them and yet no mention of FO intervention or cap management. BEN gets blamed for OFFENSIVE scheme and poor player play and the list goes on and on but YET he always shoulders it, never throws anyone under the bus and took a pay cut to boot. BEN IS NOT THE PROBLEM



Correction: 22 players are signed. Still doesn't account for drafted/undrafted players and FA pickups. New signings are not listed yet like Zach Banner. We'll know better for next year's makeup after the draft. Good year for young players to make the team for next year.


I'm excited for next year's "CAP" management to see how it plays out. 22 sounds like a low number but I wonder what an average year is ? I would guess 10-15 on an average year to year unsign.




Salute the nation
 

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Andy dalton and Fitzpatrick are getting around 10M avg in this free agency, why would Ben play for vet minimum? Saying he doesn't care about his contract doesn't mean he wants to play for free, you are pushing your agenda against a guy that still can deliver and is in a very friendly deal. Why not ask the rest of the high paid vets to play for vet minimum? Those guys are gladiators and are risking their health every game, no one has to be playing for absurd amounts just to help out the team, and yes, a HOF QB that still has some in the tank playing for the vet minimum is completely absurd.


Ben helped to reduce his cap hit in 2021, without a doubt. But he didn't do enough to help this team succeed in his existing one-year window. Obviously his return didn't influence the Steelers' most important potential free agents to come back to Pittsburgh -- Dupree, Hilton, Feiler, Alualu -- they couldn't have gotten out of Dodge much faster.
 

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I am happy with his approach obviously you aren't. What QB has played for the league minimum? Here is a hint there isn't one. I think you are being a little unrealistic in your wants of Ben. My thought process is he did enough and the Steelers didn't. So you heard of how popular Tomlin is with players on and off the team right? Why didn't he do more to influence those free agents to stay? Sounds silly doesn't it? Just as silly as thinking Ben should have influenced them to take a lot less. He isn't a GM. He isn't responsible for any approach they take. In fact the FO is the one who layed out Ben's contract in which was acceptable to them. They could have released Ben ultimately right?
It's great that you're happy with Ben's approach. Get ready to be happy with another year of the Steelers ultimately accomplishing nothing.

Plenty of quarterbacks have played for the league minimum. In fact, there's already one on Pittsburgh's current roster -- Dwayne Haskins. But, no, I wouldn't have expected Ben to play for that kind of contract...until he opened his mouth and said he didn't care about his salary in 2021. Why is this concept so difficult for you to grasp?

I'm not saying Ben should have personally influenced players to take less money. My point is, even though the Steelers brought Ben back for one more year, it still didn't matter to these free agents, because they (like most realistic observers) understand that the window for reaching the Super bowl with Pittsburgh is already closed. With or without a 39-year-old Ben.
 

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To many here and in public want to blame BEN for everything and that includes tings out of his control. BEN & FO negotiated a very friendly contract that both are happy with and yet BEN is over priced and should be working for way less. Then he gets blamed for FAs leaving, like he let them and yet no mention of FO intervention or cap management. BEN gets blamed for OFFENSIVE scheme and poor player play and the list goes on and on but YET he always shoulders it, never throws anyone under the bus and took a pay cut to boot. BEN IS NOT THE PROBLEM
Give me a break, guy. I'm not blaming Ben for free agents leaving -- I said they're leaving in spite of the fact that he's coming back. And if you actually read what I wrote, I also did mention the front office.

You're right, Ben is not the problem. Yet he isn't the solution, either.
 

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Seriously, how much more whining can one person do. Ben is arguably the greatest Steelers QB we have ever had. He played reasonably well last year coming off a career-threatening injury. He took a pay cut and helped spread the remaining salary out to significantly reduce his cap hit. He is absolutely, bar none, our best chance to win this year. I'm glad he's back and think he will do well if they shore up the O-line a bit (bringing Big Al back won't do that) and drafting a true starting feature RB in round 1 or trading up in round 2. I'm glad he's back.
 
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Andy dalton and Fitzpatrick are getting around 10M avg in this free agency, why would Ben play for vet minimum? Saying he doesn't care about his contract doesn't mean he wants to play for free, you are pushing your agenda against a guy that still can deliver and is in a very friendly deal. Why not ask the rest of the high paid vets to play for vet minimum? Those guys are gladiators and are risking their health every game, no one has to be playing for absurd amounts just to help out the team, and yes, a HOF QB that still has some in the tank playing for the vet minimum is completely absurd.
Then what does Ben saying he doesn't care about his contract mean, exactly? What does doing everything he can to help the team mean, exactly? Wouldn't these statements by Ben be "absurd"? Why say anything at all if he didn't intend to follow through? The team was clearly ready to part ways if he didn't take a salary reduction. People treating him like he's some sort of saint for taking $14 million is the absurd part about all of this. Actually, it's more likely that Ben was on the verge of taking a $19 million pay cut, and being out of a job.

The rest of the "high paid vets" are still in the prime of their careers, and have nowhere near a quarter of a billion in career earnings. And, they never said anything about not caring about their salaries or helping the team. That's the difference.
 

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Seriously, how much more whining can one person do. Ben is arguably the greatest Steelers QB we have ever had. He played reasonably well last year coming off a career-threatening injury. He took a pay cut and helped spread the remaining salary out to significantly reduce his cap hit. He is absolutely, bar none, our best chance to win this year. I'm glad he's back and think he will do well if they shore up the O-line a bit (bringing Big Al back won't do that) and drafting a true starting feature RB in round 1 or trading up in round 2. I'm glad he's back
I don't know. How much more ***-kissing can four or five people do?

Ben rulz. His great sacrifice of $5 million dollars is amazing, and by God, it's certainly all he could have possibly done to help this team. We should all thank Jesus and all that's holy that we are lucky enough to have him playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for one more potential non-losing season.

Is that better?
 

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I don't know. How much more ***-kissing can four or five people do?

Ben rulz. His great sacrifice of $5 million dollars is amazing, and by God, it's certainly all he could have possibly done to help this team. We should all thank Jesus and all that's holy that we are lucky enough to have him playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers for one more potential non-losing season.

Is that better?
No one is kissing anyone's *** but no matter what anyone says, you put up multiple posts bashing them for being OK with having a QB we can win with who is going to cost us a hell of a lot less than any other legit option - even if there was another legit option out there. Unless you're one of the ones that want to tank the season just to try and get a draft pick.
 

topseed

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No one is kissing anyone's *** but no matter what anyone says, you put up multiple posts bashing them for being OK with having a QB we can win with who is going to cost us a hell of a lot less than any other legit option - even if there was another legit option out there. Unless you're one of the ones that want to tank the season just to try and get a draft pick.
No, I've put up multiple posts bashing Ben for being a hypocrite. Which is the truth, and very hard for some of you to accept.

The way free agency is going so far, the Steelers aren't going to have to worry about tanking the season; it'll come naturally. And instead of $0, they'll have $10.3 million in dead cap from Ben when they start rebuilding next season. It is what it is.
 

slashsteel

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No, I've put up multiple posts bashing Ben for being a hypocrite. Which is the truth, and very hard for some of you to accept.

The way free agency is going so far, the Steelers aren't going to have to worry about tanking the season; it'll come naturally. And instead of $0, they'll have $10.3 million in dead cap from Ben when they start rebuilding next season. It is what it is.
That is your opinion you should really keep away from that is the truth type comments. Here is what is true. The Steelers backload contracts and the piper came calling from their approach. Ben's agent sat down and the FO came up with an acceptable plan. For them. 10 million dead money for an 100 million dollar QB. I think the Steelers will live with that. What is odd to me is all this Ben's angst when the FO is what put us in this predicament. But hey you do you.
 

slashsteel

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It's great that you're happy with Ben's approach. Get ready to be happy with another year of the Steelers ultimately accomplishing nothing.

Plenty of quarterbacks have played for the league minimum. In fact, there's already one on Pittsburgh's current roster -- Dwayne Haskins. But, no, I wouldn't have expected Ben to play for that kind of contract...until he opened his mouth and said he didn't care about his salary in 2021. Why is this concept so difficult for you to grasp?

I'm not saying Ben should have personally influenced players to take less money. My point is, even though the Steelers brought Ben back for one more year, it still didn't matter to these free agents, because they (like most realistic observers) understand that the window for reaching the Super bowl with Pittsburgh is already closed. With or without a 39-year-old Ben.
You think they will accomplish more when Ben leaves. The greatest Steelers Qb in franchise history? Nothing you have said is difficult to grasp I just am not buying it. He didn't put the Steelers in the position they are in and wasn't responsible to get them out of it. I am not talking backups playing for minimum I was talking starting QBs. Ben said he would do whatever they want. When they sat down he signed what THEY wanted. That is what should be grasped.
 

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Correction: 22 players are signed. Still doesn't account for drafted/undrafted players and FA pickups. New signings are not listed yet like Zach Banner. We'll know better for next year's makeup after the draft. Good year for young players to make the team for next year.
+1
Even with a new deal for TJ and (maybe) a new deal for Minkah those 2 would still roughly occupy Ben's typical salary slot and we should be cap AOK for 3+ years you'd think. The key at that point would be getting the QB worth paying 30+million a year so we can go back into cap heck again.
 

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Then what does Ben saying he doesn't care about his contract mean, exactly? What does doing everything he can to help the team mean, exactly? Wouldn't these statements by Ben be "absurd"? Why say anything at all if he didn't intend to follow through? The team was clearly ready to part ways if he didn't take a salary reduction. People treating him like he's some sort of saint for taking $14 million is the absurd part about all of this. Actually, it's more likely that Ben was on the verge of taking a $19 million pay cut, and being out of a job.

The rest of the "high paid vets" are still in the prime of their careers, and have nowhere near a quarter of a billion in career earnings. And, they never said anything about not caring about their salaries or helping the team. That's the difference.
I don't treat or see Ben as a saint, hope you are not putting me in that list. I'm just saying that the guy wouldn't play for vet minimum, no one would been HOF bound.
Maybe you are too literal in your point of view of what Ben said.

Guess you wanted the guy to Actually play for what haskins is earning but I don't see anyone else even considering that an option. The next time a SB winning QB does that will be the first time, i mean not even trent dilfer played for that
 

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@topseed, I don't know why you're so upset. A guy that's earned close to $200M in his career is going to go out with a $10M cap hit. That is nothing when you throw that kind of coin at a football player. Dead money is a part of football and the end of careers for many players. Polamalu was $12M spread out as $6M over 2 years. AB, $21M. Football dead cap isn't magic. It's a player reworking his contract time and time again, to help his team sign and keep players to stay competitive, which is what we have been for 2 decades.

What is a fair value for Ben then? The market is there. Is he better than Andy Dalton? Yes he is and AD made $10M. So $14 ain't breaking the bank. If you think he should play for league minimum, that is just absurd. Ben is not a league minimum QB, he's a franchise QB, and has been our franchise for the past 18 years. We get one more year with the guy, so I'm going to enjoy the ride, like I did this year when we were 10-0 before the league ****** us with 4 games in 19 days and we lost key starters.

Ben is a winner, and a healthy Ben with a better line will make him even better. Let's hope we get the draft right!
 

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That is your opinion you should really keep away from that is the truth type comments. Here is what is true. The Steelers backload contracts and the piper came calling from their approach. Ben's agent sat down and the FO came up with an acceptable plan. For them. 10 million dead money for an 100 million dollar QB. I think the Steelers will live with that. What is odd to me is all this Ben's angst when the FO is what put us in this predicament. But hey you do you.
I'll agree to disagree at this point. But the truth is that accepting $14 million was taking $12.925 million more than all he could do for the team. You don't want to accept that, but it is indeed a fact. Not an opinion.

I'll give you an opinion: Ben is not a "100 million dollar QB." He used to be, but not anymore.
 

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You think they will accomplish more when Ben leaves. The greatest Steelers Qb in franchise history? Nothing you have said is difficult to grasp I just am not buying it. He didn't put the Steelers in the position they are in and wasn't responsible to get them out of it. I am not talking backups playing for minimum I was talking starting QBs. Ben said he would do whatever they want. When they sat down he signed what THEY wanted. That is what should be grasped.
No, probably not. But even with Ben (younger versions of him), the Steelers haven't even been able to accomplish a single postseason win since 2016. And that includes teams with 12- and 13-win regular seasons. What's to be accomplished by bringing him back this year?

I'm sure that THEY would have been perfectly willing to sit down and sign Ben to a smaller contract, had he been willing to agree to it.
 

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I don't treat or see Ben as a saint, hope you are not putting me in that list. I'm just saying that the guy wouldn't play for vet minimum, no one would been HOF bound.
Maybe you are too literal in your point of view of what Ben said.

Guess you wanted the guy to Actually play for what haskins is earning but I don't see anyone else even considering that an option. The next time a SB winning QB does that will be the first time, i mean not even trent dilfer played for that
You are right...I probably did take Ben too literally. I would have been cool with him waiving his $15 million dollar roster bonus and playing for his $4 million salary. That would have really helped the team, and not been looked at as some "how is he playing for the veteran minimum" type of insult to his overall career.
 

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No, probably not. But even with Ben (younger versions of him), the Steelers haven't even been able to accomplish a single postseason win since 2016. And that includes teams with 12- and 13-win regular seasons. What's to be accomplished by bringing him back this year?

I'm sure that THEY would have been perfectly willing to sit down and sign Ben to a smaller contract, had he been willing to agree to it.
They had their opportunity to lower the hit more right? They signed off on it right? Takes two to agree or disagree. Then second they layed out something for Ben that is when it fell back on them completely. Seriously. Think perhaps coaching and other personnel decisions had something to do with those lack of postseasons? I do.
 

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@topseed, I don't know why you're so upset. A guy that's earned close to $200M in his career is going to go out with a $10M cap hit. That is nothing when you throw that kind of coin at a football player. Dead money is a part of football and the end of careers for many players. Polamalu was $12M spread out as $6M over 2 years. AB, $21M. Football dead cap isn't magic. It's a player reworking his contract time and time again, to help his team sign and keep players to stay competitive, which is what we have been for 2 decades.

What is a fair value for Ben then? The market is there. Is he better than Andy Dalton? Yes he is and AD made $10M. So $14 ain't breaking the bank. If you think he should play for league minimum, that is just absurd. Ben is not a league minimum QB, he's a franchise QB, and has been our franchise for the past 18 years. We get one more year with the guy, so I'm going to enjoy the ride, like I did this year when we were 10-0 before the league ****** us with 4 games in 19 days and we lost key starters.

Ben is a winner, and a healthy Ben with a better line will make him even better. Let's hope we get the draft right!
I'm not really that upset, per se, just more disappointed in Ben after what he'd said. As I've mentioned before, I've been a huge Ben fan since day one in 2004. I understand how dead cap works in today's NFL -- it just would have been awfully refreshing for a player of Ben's caliber to actually back up his words, and play one last season for significantly less than he's worth for the sake of his team. But, as Litos suggested, I probably took his words too literally.

You're more upbeat on the upcoming season than I am. Hopefully, the Steelers will get the draft right, and we'll be able to start to see what kind of direction they're heading. Bringing Ben back for one year, while letting other valuable free agents walk, makes their path very unclear to me.
 

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They had their opportunity to lower the hit more right? They signed off on it right? Takes two to agree or disagree. Then second they layed out something for Ben that is when it fell back on them completely. Seriously. Think perhaps coaching and other personnel decisions had something to do with those lack of postseasons? I do.
Me too. Which leads me to believe that we're in for more of the same redundancies in coaching and personnel decisions with or without Ben in 2021.

But I will try to enjoy watching Ben for one more year, even though his return will be fruitless for the franchise going forward.
 

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I'm not really that upset, per se, just more disappointed in Ben after what he'd said. As I've mentioned before, I've been a huge Ben fan since day one in 2004. I understand how dead cap works in today's NFL -- it just would have been awfully refreshing for a player of Ben's caliber to actually back up his words, and play one last season for significantly less than he's worth for the sake of his team. But, as Litos suggested, I probably took his words too literally.

You're more upbeat on the upcoming season than I am. Hopefully, the Steelers will get the draft right, and we'll be able to start to see what kind of direction they're heading. Bringing Ben back for one year, while letting other valuable free agents walk, makes their path very unclear to me.
Other years they kicked the can to retain players. They chose a different path this year. Ben is not the reason whomever left. They had plenty of time to extend,restructure, etc. Their approach changed they did less this off-season. For whatever reason that caused the exits.
 
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