Steelers working on ‘significant’ contract extension for Ben Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger are working on a “significant” contract extension which is likely to be his last, team general manager Kevin Colbert said Sunday.

The #Steelers contract talks w/ Ben Roethlisberger are “still ongoing,” GM Kevin Colbert said. “This is probably his last contract as an NFL player, so it’s significant” – to the player and club, he said.

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) March 24, 2019

Doubling down on previous comments regarding Roethlisberger’s voice as the leader of the Steelers, Colbert also said, “We feel comfortable knowing Ben is our quarterback and our leader.”

GM Kevin Colbert says he and the #Steelers organization feel the recent public chatter regarding Ben Roethlisberger and his locker room personality is just white noise: “We feel comfortable knowing Ben is our quarterback and our leader.”

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) March 24, 2019

Pittsburgh made a conscious choice to back Roethlisberger over other stars this offseason. Both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell have expressed their frustration with Big Ben, and now both of them are with other organizations.

Roethlisberger, 37, would be entering the final year of his current contract and is set to count $23.2 million against the cap if he does not land an extension.

Last season, the veteran quarterback passed for 5,129 yards with 34 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.