It seems every time there is talk of a team giving up on a former first-round quarterback, the interest of Steelers fans is piqued.
After all, fans know Ben Roethlisberger is 38 and has just two years remaining on his contract. Roethlisberger has been coy about his intentions, saying at different times that he is only taking things one year at a time, but other times noting that he has two years remaining on his current deal.
That deal includes Roethlisberger counting $41.25 million in 2021 after the Steelers restructured him earlier this year -- before the pandemic struck and we knew there was a possibility the cap would be going down, even if slightly, in 2021.
Roethlisberger's arm looks strong this season, better than that of some of his contemporaries. Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers are showing signs of losing arm strength. But Roethlisberger's surgery to fix three flexor tendons in his elbow look like it has revitalized his arm.
He could play three or four more years -- if he wants -- by the looks of it.
So, if the Steelers want to create some cap space at the end of this season, the easy way to do so is to extend Roethlisberger at least for another year. That could create as much as $14 to $15-million in cap space for 2021.
Obviously, it also would be kicking their quarterback dilemma down the road -- again.
Given that the Steelers look like they're headed toward having a pick in the second half of next year's draft, it makes fan interest in every former first-round pick who might become available sensible.
Earlier this year, it was Jameis Winston, the top pick in the 2015 draft. Then it was Josh Rosen, the 10th pick in the 2018 draft, who was the apple of their eye. And as the Jets continue their downward spiral toward having the first pick in the 2021 draft, you can bet Sam Darnold will continue to gain steam.
Winston never made much sense because the Steelers were all-in on Roethlisberger this season, and he wasn't going to sign more than a one-year deal. And Rosen and Darnold haven't shown a whole lot in the NFL.
But here's one nobody is talking about. Watch the Eagles' Carson Wentz this weekend.
Prior to last week's win over the 49ers, Wentz had gone from Philadelphia hanging "Welcome to Wentzlvania" signs up in the streets in 2016, to the people running the in-house crowd noise at Lincoln Financial Field cueing up boos for his play in a tie against the Bengals two weeks ago. In his own stadium.
But his line and pass catchers are completely trashed because of injuries.
Just three seasons ago, Wentz was being given strong consideration for NFL MVP honors in his second NFL season. Then, he tore up his knee and the Eagles won the Super Bowl without him.
Still, management decided to keep him over Nick Foles -- the right decision -- and gave Wentz, the second pick in the 2016 draft, a four-year, $128-million contract in 2019. But the Eagles are in worse cap hell than the Steelers -- or anyone else, for that matter. They're nearly $50 million over the 2021 estimated salary cap.
That cap could certainly come in higher than the $175 million it's currently estimated at, but it's not going to keep the Eagles from having to jettison talent -- a lot of it. And considering the team has a losing record since winning the Super Bowl at the end of the 2017 season, blowing things up and starting over might make some sense.
And the Eagles have an out on the deal with Wentz after the 2021 season, when he has $25.4 million in salary guarantees. After that, he can be traded or released pretty easily and would still be short of his 30th birthday.
A trade would make some sense, since the salaries for Wentz on the final three seasons of his deal are $22, $21 and $20 million, a relative bargain for a starting quarterback since the Eagles would have to eat his remaining signing bonus.
Given Roethlisberger's status, it's something the Steelers would have to strongly consider. It could still be Wentzlvania -- if the Steelers don't totally ruin him Sunday.
Chances are, the Steelers' future starting quarterback is a freshman or sophomore in college right now -- if he's playing. But there also could be more veterans such as Wentz who wind up being the mix.
MORE STEELERS
• The new COVID-19 rules the league put out this week after last week's outbreaks are going to make it awfully difficult for teams to sign free agents, and it could lead to even more poaching of other team's rosters for teams in need. The league is now limiting teams to five tryouts per week unless they have a situation in which they have to place more than five players on IR in a given week. And the waiting period on those players being allowed to practice is now six days instead of the three that the league originally went with. Blame the Titans for that one, as well. They signed a player to their practice squad, who three days later tested positive, showing the three-day waiting period was not enough. What this could lead to is even more poaching of players off the practice squads of players, something that's happened twice to the Steelers already this season, with safety Curtis Riley being signed by the Cardinals and defensive tackle Daniel McCullers going to the Bears. Those players, after all, have been tested daily. -- Lolley
• How much longer before opponents just give up on running the ball conventionally against the Steelers altogether? The Steelers are allowing just 2.3 yards per carry to running backs this season, the best total in the league. And they've done that against the likes of Saquon Barkley, Melvin Gordon and David Johnson, all of whom have been 1,000-yard rushers in their careers. Thus far, opponents have run the ball 61 times against the Steelers, but seven of those have been rushing attempts by quarterbacks and one has been by a wide receiver. So, really, opponents have attempted to conventionally run the ball 53 times against the Steelers and have gained 122 yards. The last time we've seen something like this was in 2010, when opponents ran the ball 333 times against the Steelers, 33 times fewer than any other team in the NFL. The Steelers allowed 3.0 yards per carry that season. But in those days, you didn't run against the Steelers base defense, you waited and did it against their nickel. The Steelers' nickel defense, however, has been equally stout against the run this season. And with the way the Steelers are hitting opposing quarterbacks, going that route is no picnic, either. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• A source prefaced this point with “for what it is worth,” but there will be plenty of teams that do not spend up to the limit in the international free agent market this year to cut costs amid the pandemic. Ben Cherington and the Pirates saw the opportunity and took a different approach, not only spending up to their original ceiling, but acquiring unused space very cheaply and utilizing it to sign right-hander Po-Yu Chen, on whom the team is very high. His $1.25 million bonus is tied for the most they have given any international free agent over the last five years, matching the deal they signed shortstop Ji-Hwan Bae to in 2018. That’s a pretty penny to spend on a pitcher who is years away from potentially pitching in the majors, and criticisms of major-league payroll aside, Bob Nutting has a good history of being willing to spend to acquire prospects. Cherington was very aggressive in the international markets when he was the Red Sox general manager, and he found a way to pull off a late signing to get one of the best players who was on the market this year. -- Alex Stumpf
• The JT Riddle era in Pittsburgh is over, with the utilityman electing free agency after being outrighted to Indianapolis. While it is hardly a high priority, considering everything else the organization wants to accomplish this offseason, it does open up a bench utility role for next season. To throw a name into the mix, Kevin Kramer made strides learning the outfield in 2019, and has proven he can handle second and third base. He missed this season after undergoing hip surgery during the shutdown, and 2021 is looking like a make-or-break year for him. The chances of him getting an opportunity to earn a job out of spring training should increase if the Pirates make other transactions too, like potentially trading Adam Frazier. -- Stumpf
• It appears the fight between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball has finally ended, with the minors officially becoming a branch of MLB this week. There isn’t much unexpected fallout for the Pirates. Their rookie affiliate in Bristol, Va., has already dropped the “Pirates” moniker from its name. They, and every other Appalachian League club, will become a collegiate wooden-bat league moving forward, so there will still be a baseball presence in that city. One interesting note from the negotiations, though it will almost certainly mean nothing, is that the development deal between the Pirates and its class AAA affiliate Indianapolis Indians actually did expire at the end of September. Don’t read too much into it, as the majority of team affiliate contracts across the league expired at the end of 2020, and none would be renewed until the negotiations between MLB and MiLB were done. The belief out of Indianapolis is the Pirates will renew the partnership. -- Stumpf
PENGUINS
• The Penguins didn't have a first-round draft choice in this week's NHL Draft, the fifth time that has been the case in the seven drafts Jim Rutherford has overseen. That's a by-product of the win-now mandate Rutherford has been given by ownership and, while members of the Penguins' scouting staff surely wish they'd get more frequent opportunities to claim a higher-quality prospect, along the lines of a Samuel Poulin or Kasperi Kapanen, amateur scouting director Patrik Allvin said they understand the team's approach. "Obviously, our staff takes a lot of pride in their work," he said. "The good thing with this staff is that, at the end of the day, we're doing this in the Penguins' best (interest)," he said. "For us, it means to win the Cup. Whenever we can contribute, (when we) give away our first-round pick, it's even more of a challenge for us to make sure we get another player in the third round. The overall satisfaction for the scouts is to be part of a Stanley Cup champion, and we've been that. We understand where we are. This is just part of the business. I think everybody takes pride in seeing some of the players who go through (the organization) and end up lifting the Cup, and we feel good about it. For myself, being involved with Pittsburgh since 2006, more or less this has been the path we've been taking. I don't think it's really frustrating. It's more about satisfaction when we're able to win the Cup. I guess it's part of the business nowadays to part ways with first-rounders." -- Dave Molinari
• Buffalo's decision to not extend a qualifying offer to forward Dominik Kahun, acquired in the deal that brought Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues to the Penguins, and thus make him an unrestricted free agent, generated a lot of attention among the Penguins' fan base, who viewed the move as an unexpected opportunity to correct a personnel mistake made when the Penguins parted with him. But while Kahun is versatile and would seem to be a nice fit for the third line the Penguins are trying to rebuild, chances are he wouldn't be a cheap fix for an opening there because his availability was noticed in a few other places, too. There is sentiment in Chicago for the Blackhawks, his original NHL club, to pursue him, and Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl, the league's reigning MVP, is a close friend and is expected to offer an endorsement to management there. Regardless of where he ends up, then, Kahun probably can expect to get a contract with a salary-cap hit considerably higher than the $925,000 on the deal that just expired, even though the stagnant cap ceiling could hold down what teams are willing to invest in free agents. -- Molinari
• The Matt Murray trade eliminated the possibility of what could have been a fascinating arbitration hearing between his representatives and the Penguins. Arbitration hearings can get contentious, with clubs trying to hold down the amount of money a player is awarded and agents doing whatever they can to maximize the award, but the negative information and assessments offered by teams generally are tempered by the knowledge that, once the arbitrator makes his ruling, the player will be back on their payroll and in their locker room. Consequently, there is some incentive to not pile on with negativity. However, in Murray's case, the Penguins had decided to trade him, and would have had no reason to avoid being flat-out brutal in their presentation, since keeping the award as low as possible could have enhanced Murray's appeal on the trade market. That was rendered moot when Rutherford worked out the deal that sent him to Ottawa Wednesday, and even though it's possible that Murray, a restricted free agent, will go to arbitration with the Senators, it's safe to assume the hearing won't be nearly as nasty as one with the Penguins could have been. -- Molinari