01-12-2021, 01:14 PM
(01-11-2021, 07:30 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: I know this has been brought up in other threads, but I still feel like it's the elephant in the room, especially to Steelers fans.
Sitting and crying on the bench.
My initial thoughts were "he's done. He knows he's not playing next year," because why else would a grown man be crying? He's lost big games before."
Maybe he's also tired of JuJu's antics and just feels like they're not the same Steelers anymore.
Michael Robinson said that the Steelers haven't done anything since the last Super Bowl and that Bryant and Bell left because of Ben, which I hadn't heard any expert make that claim before.
He also mentioned how they're both still in the playoffs while Ben's in a bar somewhere having his bodyguards bring him college babes to rape!
His cap hit is something like 41 million next year, so will the Steelers just take that or cut him and still a 21(?) mil dead cap?
Is Ben done? Are the Steelers in trouble if he does retire?
It is tough to say but he's done. I think it's time to move on. That doesn't mean he's a bad QB, it's just that his production isn't worth the cap hit. Honestly aside from Patrick Mahomes, there probably isn't ANY other player in the league worth a $41M cap hit.
The only option would be to extend him a year and spread out that hit over 2021 and 2022. Even a two year extension would help more. But that route means that he'd be the QB for the next two to three years and those are valuable years that they could be rebuilding. In all seriousness, there still is a place for him in this league. He's better than A LOT of starting QBs out there. But it's that damn cap hit combined with where the team is now. I think this is a good jumping off point. It's better to get rid of a player a year early than keep them a year or two too late. Look at the Pats. They should've traded Brady and kept Garafalo like BB wanted. Yeah they won another SB, but they're suffering now and probably will for a few more seasons. And who's to say they wouldn't have won that SB with Jimmy G?
IMO if they can bring in Darnold for a decent (trade) price and let him compete with Rudolph. Im not like a lot of Steeler fans regarding Mason. He really was playing pretty good last year until (whats his name?) from Baltimore decapitated him then he wasn't the same and got hurt again. He actually looked pretty good against Cleveland last week. I'd give him a season or two with Darnold around as a just in case.
As a team, Im not so panicked. They're definitely in for a few lean years, but I don't think they're going to be real bad. They've got a really good D and need to lean to them while they rebuild the O. They need to sign their key guys like Alualu, Watt, and Minka. Dupree is gone, but Alex Highsmith has performed well and there's a lot of high hope for him going forward. They need to think about replacing Haden and Heyward.
Offensively they really need to rebuild the O line. AV has struggled and Pouncey is probably going to retire, but the Dotson kid has looked really good. I wouldn't mind Conner staying at the right price. Good story but can't stay healthy. If he's not looking to break the bank, Im fine with who they have at RB. WR.....Juju is gone and that's fine. He's become AB Lite with his social media obsession and distractions. He's not the cancer that AB was though but with Claypool, Johnson, and Washington (why he didn't get more PT IDK), and Ebron and Vance, I think they're more than fine at the receiver position.
Not much is being said about it yet, but their 2020 draft looks to be outstanding (Claypool, Dotson, and Highsmith) and should really help them transition.
