“I have never seen a star quarterback beg to come back”: Skip Bayless Ridicules Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Skip Bayless in a recent tweet, claimed that Ben Roethlisberger is “groveling” for a 2021 return in response to reports of the QB’s willingness to take a pay cut.

After a rollercoaster 2020 season, which saw the Steelers start 11-0 only to close out 1-5 following back to back losses to the Browns, it’s no surprise Big Ben is hungry for redemption.

Despite an illustrious 17 year career which saw him pass for more than 60,000 yards and 396 touchdowns, he has only laid his hands on the Lombardi trophy once.

Whether Roethlisberger is truly “begging” to come back or not as Skip interprets, a potential 18th season in yellow and gold makes sense for the signal-caller.

He was able to bounce back after a tough injury in 2019 and regardless of the downwards spiral Pittsburgh suffered at the back end of the season, they showed glimpses of greatness as they went undefeated through the first 11 games.

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Ben Roethlisberger is Ready to Take a Pay Cut to Return in 2021

It is completely understandable why the 39 year old veteran is keen on returning. To retire as winner and have your last game be a Super Bowl victory is a dream of any player, but an honor which only a few of his peers managed to achieve.

The main problem with a potential return for Roethlisberger is his cap hit: $41.25 million, or the highest in the league. When speaking to reporters regarding the situation, Steelers president Art Rooney left much up for speculation

“I think we’d like to see Ben back for another year if that can work, but as we’ve said, there’s a lot of work to be done to see if that can happen,” he said. “There may need to be decisions to be made for that to happen.”

Soon after Rooney’s comments, Roethlisberger sat down with the Athletic’s Ed Bouchette and made it clear what his intentions are.