When the Steelers lost in the playoffs 48-37 to the Browns in Jan., the first question for Pittsburgh's offseason was whether Ben Roethlisberger would return for another season to play at 39-years old in 2021.
The team was strapped with a tough salary cap situation that required several re-worked contracts of the Steelers' higher paid players to be able to keep certain players that were important for the team's hopes next season. Roethlisberger taking a $5 million pay cut was chief among those adjustments.
Now Roethlisberger is back with the team working at their training facility at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex as the team begins its second week of OTAs Tuesday.
"It was my idea," Roethlisberger said of the pay cut when talking to reporters Tuesday. "I told them I wanted to help the team out however I could to help the team sign the guys who will help us win football games. That was a big reason why I wanted to come back because I knew we had a great defense and some amazing weapons on offense. I wanted to come back to be part of what I think is a special football team that everyone's overlooking, which is kind of cool too. In order to do that, I felt it was necessary to do that."
Roethlisberger agreeing to come back for his 18th NFL season still required him to think about his health, especially considering he suffered a season ending injury in 2019 that required reconstructive surgery on his right elbow before he returned to play in 2020.
"I felt it was the right thing to do," Roethlisberger said of his decision to return. "I felt relatively healthy at the end of the season and that I had more in the tank. I felt disappointed about how the season ended and hated to go out that way. Just wanted to let them know if they wanted me back I thought I could give them everything I've got."
Roethlisberger did throw 25 touchdown passes and only six interceptions during the team's 11-0 regular season start. But he finished the season 1-4 in his final five starts, throwing 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions during that stretch.
"I didn't play well enough at the end of the season," Roethlisberger. "It's no secret and I'll be the first to point the thumb at myself. When the ball is in your hand every play you have to make plays and play better football. As the quarterback that's directly related to a team winning and losing so I'll take that playoff and those games on me for not playing better football at the end of the season."
When asked about his deep ball and how his arm feels during this offseason, Roethlisberger joked about his recovery but acknowledged his confidence in his arm right now while still wanting to wait to see how he feels closer to the start of the season.
"You know I had total reconstruction on my elbow, that might have something to do with it," Roethlisberger said. "But, no excuses. My arm feels great though. I'd like to wait until more into the season to see how it feels because it feels really good right now, but anybody that has a big surgery it takes that first year back to determine if you're feeling great. That's why I want to reserve to get into the season to let you know how my arm feels even compared to last year."
Another big reason for Roethlisberger's return was the teammates he knew would still be on the roster. He even admitted he lobbied for the return of JuJu Smith-Schuster to have a complete assortment of his top receiving threats with Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and Eric Ebron.
"I was really excited to get JuJu back," Roethlisberger said. "I was in his ear and coach (Mike) Tomlin's ear a lot during the last 12-24 hours of JuJu signing back here. He's a familiar face and a guy that bring so much to this team. Is there a guy in the NFL on third-and-medium that you want the ball in his hands as much as JuJu? I can't think of one. What he gives and the passion he gives to this city and this team to help us win is awesome."
"As young as he is, he's the leader of that group," Roethlisberger continued about Smith-Schuster. "That's a young receiver group. We have a group text that goes around and we tease each other. I had him over the house and we played pig and I had to show him the old man was still hard to beat so I like to remind him of those kinds of things. That group is a fun group and that's one of the reasons I wanted to come back. I'm excited to see what they can bring to this offense."
In addition to his teammates, Roethlisberger expressed his appreciation of the Steelers as an organization as another factor to his deciding to return on a pay cut. Plenty of franchise quarterbacks that have played over a decade for a team have found new homes like Tom Brady with the Buccaneers, Philip Rivers with the Colts, and Matt Stafford with the Rams. But that was never something Roethlisberger wanted.
"I'm black and gold through and through," Roethlisberger said. "I didn't want to go anywhere. That's why I told the Rooneys and coach Tomlin I want to be here and no place else. This is home to me and I'll always bleed black and gold. It's been almost half my life playing football for the Steelers. That's why I was willing to take a pay cut to stay here to stay here with this group and this city. For each quarterback out there, to each their own, but to me this is home and I'm honored to have my career be here."
