Little Doubt Steelers Can Re-Sign Ben Roethlisberger
On Tuesday, Kevin Colbert the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers sat down with reporters and said the biggest news from the Steelers is not that they have begun negotiations with Ben Roethlisberger their veteran quarterback on a contract.
The big news is how confident the Pittsburgh organization is of how much longer Big Ben can play. On March 22, the talented quarterback will turn 33.
Colbert compared his Big Ben to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, two of the best to every play who have maintained a high level of play well after turning 30.
That Pittsburgh are ready to reward Roethlisberger as such has never been a question, even after the team tabled talks about a new contract last July, so they could address business of a more immediate nature at the time.
The $102 million contract for eight years that the quarterback signed back in 2008 was the franchise’s most lucrative ever. His new contract could be close to those same numbers and possibly be more.
The praise Colbert has for Roethlisberger is a very strong indication Pittsburgh is not planning to lowball their Pro Bowl signal caller.
It is likely that the Steelers quarterback and the organization will agree to a new contract much sooner than later. Having the contract negotiations done and out of the way has been on the agenda for some time and that would give Colbert and the Pittsburgh organization time to focus on needs that are more pressing.
Colbert said last year at this same time that the Steelers wanted to surround their quarterback with the most talent possible to maximize the remaining seasons he has. With their most recent drafts, the Steelers have accomplished that.
The need now is rebuilding the defense with pass rushers and strong defensive backs.
The Pittsburgh offense is loaded with talent as its skills positions, which will lead the club for the future. However, if Pittsburgh wants to make the nest step after being the winners of the AFC North this past season, they need their defense to move up closer to the offense.
For Pittsburgh, it is fortunate they can put their focus into that priority and do not have to worry about long drawn out negotiations with Roethlisberger.
This will be the third and likely last contract Roethlisberger will sign with Pittsburgh and is all about when he will sign and not if.
Pittsburgh will then have time to huddle with his coaches and determine their best possible choices in the 2015 NFL draft and what if any free agents they should focus on trying to sign.
