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Rooney on Ben: "We would like to get it done this offseason. I think it is fair to say the sooner the better. I am not going to put ... "
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) January 21, 2015
... "particular time frame on it. It is kind of hard to predict how long it takes to get these things done."
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) January 21, 2015
Rooney on potential problems with Ben contract: "You never know. It takes two to tango with contract negotations. I am not expecting a prob"
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) January 21, 2015
Outside of the many holes necessary to fill on the Pittsburgh Steelers' roster this offseason, there is a giant elephant in the room which many fans don't want to address. The exact size of the elephant resembles a 6-foot 5-inch 240-pound quarterback who wears No. 7 for the Steelers and is looking for a new contract this offseason.
When Steelers President Art Rooney II met with media Wednesday, Ben Roethlisberger's contract certainly was on the docket for discussion.
"We would like to get it done this offseason," Rooney said. "I think it is fair to say the sooner the better. I am not going to put a particular time frame on it. It is kind of hard to predict how long it takes to get these things done."
Details of the process were scarce - even nonexistent - and the president reached for a dancing metaphor to describe them.
"You never know," Rooney said. "It takes two to tango with contract negotiations. I am not expecting a problem."
Rooney said everything you'd expect a team president to say about his franchise quarterback's potential contract heading into the final year of his current deal. However, Rooney's comments are anything but comforting to a fan base concerned that their star quarterback could become a free agent in 2016.
With no deal in place and no time table, Steelers fans shouldn't expect this deal to be done anytime soon. This could well be the final contract of Roethlisberger's career, and both parties will want to do what is best for them, and that could take time.
This dance could take some time. But then again, why wouldn't it? After all, it's probably The Last Tango in Pittsburgh.