Ben Roethlisberger Willing To Do “Whatever It Takes” To Remain In Pittsburgh

There have been rumors circulating in recent weeks that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is unhappy with his current situation in Pittsburgh, but since these reports have come out, both he and the team’s leadership have done everything they can to refute any notion of discontent.

On Wednesday, Roethlisberger was asked if he would take less money to remain with the Steelers.

“You know what? Obviously, I will do whatever I need to do,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That’s something that can be discussed when the time comes. It’s not really my thing. I play football. I have people to deal with all that stuff. I will do whatever it takes to stay here and be a part of this team and help this team win.”

Roethlisberger, 31, has two years remaining on his eight-year, $102 million contract, not including this season. The problem for the Steelers is that his cap number for the 2014 season sits at $17.895 million and doesn’t move much in 2015 when he’ll account for another $17.395 million in cap space.

There has been a lot of speculation that Pittsburgh could discuss an extension this offseason with Roethlisberger in order to reduce these figures.

As Jason Fitzgerald of the Overthecap.com points out, the decision to extend Roethlisberger should not be based on cap relief alone, and should instead come to down whether or not they see him as the starting for the coming years. All indications from the team are that they intend to have Roethlisberger in place as their starting quarterback, which means there is a good chance that we will be hearing a lot more regarding a possible extension come February.

“I love being in Pittsburgh. I am extremely happy,” said Roethlisberger.