data-mm-id=”_7hdqkc4cm”>In what will likely amount to a death knell for their championship aspirations, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters today that Ben Roethlisberger would miss the remainder of the season with an elbow injury. The longtime franchise signal-caller will be replaced by Mason Rudolph, and expectations for Pittsburgh have plummeted from playoff contenders to probable AFC North bottom-feeders. It’s tough for Steelers fans to swallow, but unless Rudolph turns into a superstar or the defense takes an unprecedented leap to elite status, this season is pretty much a wash.That’s not where their problems could end, though. Roethlisberger had a great statistical season last year, but anyone who has watched him play over the last decade and change will tell you that he wasn’t quite his best. He threw critical interceptions throughout the season, and was unable to push the team over the top in the last few weeks of the season as they teetered on the edge of a playoff berth. The start of this season has been ugly. Assuming there weren’t any complications with his elbow to start the season, Roethlisberger had just under six quarters of healthy football. In those six quarters, he completed 35 passes in 62 attempts for 351 yards and zero touchdowns with one interception. Not great. He failed the eye test on top of that, never once looking comfortable and regularly misplacing balls.Now, he’ll miss the entire season, and the Steelers are on the hook for his $26.2 million cap hit with no production to be gained. Given his season-ending injury, declining play leading back to last season, and the fact that he’ll be 38 before he takes the field again, the Steelers will at least think about moving on from their franchise stalwart. But his contract will make that difficult.Roethlisberger signed a rather large extension this past offseason, and the numbers don’t bode well for Pittsburgh going forward. The extension was worth $68 million over two years, with $37.5 million guaranteed at signing. His cap hit in 2020 will be an astounding $33.5 million, and a dead-cap hit of $25 million. Cutting him this year would not only be hasty but pointless, given his dead-cap hit is nothing less of $43.5 million in 2019.If the Steelers want to get out of Big Ben’s contract, the time will be after the 2020 season, where they gave themselves an out in the extension he signed back in April. Should they choose to part ways, via trade or otherwise, Roethlisberger will only count for $12.5 million against the cap for the 2021 season. If they don’t, he’ll count for $31.5 million against the cap in his age-39 season.The guaranteed money is already gone, of course, and Roethlisberger had $30 million in injury guarantees included in his extension should the end of his career come via the medical tent. But if Pittsburgh is looking to pull the plug quickly and usher in a new era of Steeler football, they’ll be waiting until 2020 at the absolute earliest, and even then it won’t be easy.
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Verdict: Chelsea win and under 3.5 goals
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Chelsea have been handed a major Premier League top four boost ahead of a pivotal Monday night clash against Burnley at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea
Starting with the hosts, although they may have gone about it the hard way last week, Chelsea s 4-3 win over Slavia Prague saw the Blues book their spot in the semi-final of this year s Europa League. With their sights firmly set on securing a return to the top four, the mood in Maurizio Sarri s camp will be on a high following Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal all slipping up over the weekend. Sat just one point adrift of the Champions League positions and with the chance to climb as high as third on Monday night, a huge part of Chelsea …
Manchester United are interested in signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace, according to the .
Olise has been on terrific form lately. Having overcome a hamstring issue which kept him out of action for the first 11 rounds of the Premier League campaign, the 22-year-old winger now has five goals and one assist in nine league appearances for Palace this season. His brace against Brentford on December 30th was particularly important, either side of a goal from Eberechi Eze as the Eagles came back from a goal down to win 1-3 at the Brentford Community Stadium.
United have been struggling greatly upfront, with wingers proving a particularly problematic part of the squad this term. Jadon Sancho remains frozen out and very likely to leave in January, while Antony still hasn…
Lifelong Livingston fan Dave Black has been appointed the club’s new chief executive after John Ward moved up to become chairman.
Ward has been chief executive since 2016 and replaces Robert Wilson, who announced his retirement last week.
Black has been the club’s business development manager since 2020 and also head of commercial and media operations but has a long-standing affiliation with the club.
Ward said: “I took on the role of CEO when the club had back-to-back promotions as the board felt we needed to put a formal structure around the business side of things.
“It was always an unpaid, voluntary role for me and my business interests outside the club have meant that I am travelling most weeks and rarely based at the club itself.
“…
As the FA Cup replays get underway on Tuesday night, there are plenty of intriguing midweek fixtures that can tide us all over.
Ahead of a Tuesday schedule that offers a string of heavyweight affairs from across the continent, we have taken an in-depth look at a couple of noteworthy betting markets that are worth keeping an eye out for.
19:00 Getafe vs Sevilla
While Getafe might have spent the majority of last season at the heart of a La Liga relegation scrap, Tuesday’s hosts have certainly made a string of improvements this time around. Battling it out in the top half of the table, the Blues will be dreaming of the chance to mount a genuine Copa del Rey charge in 2024.
Extending on their adventure last week as they snatched a 1-0 victory away at Esp…
Bournemouth are on the verge of signing Justin Kluivert from AS Roma in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Italian journalist has reported on that Premier League club Bournemouth will pay Serie A outfit Roma an initial transfer fee of £9.5 million to secure the services of the 24-year-old winger.
Romano has added that Kluivert is on the verge of agreeing personal terms with Bournemouth and will sign a new contract with the Cherries until June 2028. It appears that it is only a matter of time before the 24-year-old Netherlands international winger officially becomes a Bournemouth player.
Kluivert spent last season on loan at Spanish club Valencia from Roma. The winger made 15 starts and 11 substitute appearances in La Liga for Los Che, scorin…
While England might have stormed their way to a 3-1 victory away at British rivals Scotland on Tuesday night, it is no secret that Gareth Southgate has once again seen his position come under increasing scrutiny this month.
With the Three Lions eventually forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Ukraine last weekend as they dropped their first European Championship qualifying points, Southgate’s squad selection has been a major talking point over the past fortnight.
Controversially electing to call up the likes of Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips for this month’s international break, Southgate and his often pragmatic approach haven’t endeared him to some sections of the England fanbase.
With the Three Lions’ current superstar crop now b…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 10/11 @
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at the top of the Ligue 1 table, Brest will welcome Nice to the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Sunday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Brest might have spent the majority of last season at the heart of a Ligue 1 relegation scrap, the Pirates have continued on a real domestic flurry this time around. Last seen mounting a dramatic late comeback away at defending champions PSG as they snatched a 2-2 stalemate, Eric Roy’s side have cemented their spot as one of Europe’s ultimate surprise packages this year. Riding what has been a famous wave of momentum, the one-time Nice boss will be desperate to get one over on his former employers and make another statement. Opening this…
While the Champions League qualifiers might steal most of the midweek headlines, we still have a host of interesting affairs from across the footballing globe.
With a hectic schedule from the likes of Asia and South America on Tuesday, we have created your ultimate midweek betting double.
11:30 Anyang vs Cheonan City
Making a welcomed return to winning ways last weekend thanks to an action-packed 3-2 victory away at Asan, Tuesday’s hosts will be more than aware that they face a must-win showdown here. With their sights still firmly set on securing a top-flight return in 2023, Lee Woo-hyung’s men sit just two points adrift of breaking into the top-two.
Losing just a pair of their previous eight K League 2 appearances, the former Shenyang Dongjin bos…
Kylian Mbappe reiterated his commitment to Paris Saint-Germain, though he is set on winning the Champions League.
Mbappe became PSG s record goalscorer as he sealed a 4-2 win over Nantes on Saturday.
The 24-year-old surpassed Edinson Cavani s tally of 200 for the club when he slammed home in stoppage time. Mbappe took just 247 matches to reach 201 goals – Cavani s 200 strikes came from 301 appearances.
Having won the 2018 World Cup with France and five Ligue 1 titles, the Champions League has evaded Mbappe, who has a runners-up medal from the 2020 final when PSG lost to Bayern Munich.
Bayern stand in the way of PSG s progress this season, with the Bundesliga giants holding a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday.
West Ham United are interested in signing James McAtee from Premier League rivals Manchester City in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Hammers are looking at a potential move for McAtee if Lucas Paqueta leaves for the defending Premier League champions.
City, who won the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup last season, wanted to sign Paqueta in the summer of 2023 and remain keen on securing the services of the Brazil international attacking midfielder. So, if the Hammers have to sell Paqueta, then, according to SportsLens, they will try to sign McAtee.
McAtee can operate as a midfielder or as a winger. The 21-year-old England Under-21 international is on loan at Sheffield United at the moment. He has made 18 …