5 potential landing spots for Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew in 2021

Ben Roethlisberger looks to be cooked right now, with an inability or unwillingness to throw downfield or between the numbers. But the Steelers are probably stuck with for the final year of his contract in 2021. In fact, to reduce his huge cap hit for next year ($41.25 million), they may have to kick the can down the road with a contract extension. Still, the Steelers need a better plan behind a quarterback who will be 39 years old next season.

Roethlisberger has dismissed the notion he’d consider retiring after the season.

After Roethlisberger suffered an elbow injury in Week 2 of the 2019 season, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges revealed themselves as subpar NFL quarterbacks (and that might be kind). Finding an upgrade to the depth chart shouldn’t be too hard, even with cap space being an issue and it winds up just being a late-round pick in April.

Minshew can surely be had for that same late-round pick. He also comes with NFL starting experience though, and a flair for some dramatic (four fourth quarter comebacks in 20 career starts). And he’s only due roughly $2 million over the next two seasons, so his contract is appropriately cheap for the Steelers.

Only a major injury will take Roethlisberger off the field. But as a solid fall back if he were to go down again next year, and a possible (if easy to say unlikely) successor, Minshew makes a lot of sense for Pittsburgh.