Steelers President Art Rooney II says team wants Ben Roethlisberger back

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II released a statement Wednesday saying the team wants longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to return for the 2021 season.

"Ben Roethlisberger and I met [Tuesday] morning and we had a productive meeting," Rooney said in his statement. "We were able to discuss a lot of things that relate to where we are and where we want to go. Ben assured me that he is committed to coming back to help us win, and I told Ben that we would like to have him back to help us win a championship.

"We both understand that the next step is to work out Ben's contract situation."

The final year of Roethlisberger's current contract comes with a $41.2 million cap hit in 2021, although that number could lower by a maximum of about $14 million once the deal is restructured.

The 38-year-old Roethlisberger could decide to take a pay cut and play under the veterans minimum, which would lower his cap hit to about $23 million.

In a statement to NFL Media on Tuesday night, Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, said "we are happy to creatively adjust his contract to help them build the best team possible."

Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, completed 65.6% of his passes for 3,803 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.