Ben Roethlisberger anticipates Mike Wallace's departure having a noticeable and negative effect on the Steelers' offense.
Wallace is often criticized as a one-trick-pony deep threat, but the fact that he tilted coverage and commanded double teams made Wallace a valuable piece in Pittsburgh's offense. "On the field, he was something special," Big Ben explained. "People don't realize how important it is to have a guy with his ability on the football field. ... Safeties have to respect Mike's speed. Cornerbacks and the defense are scheming to stop Mike Wallace going deep. It opens up other receivers, so to lose a guy like that is really going to be tough for all of us."

Ben Roethlisberger said his health feels "great" right now.

Ben Roethlisberger insists there weren't issues in the Steelers' locker room last season.
"For anybody to say there are locker room issues or leadership issues are completely off base," Roethlisberger said. "I believe that's the frustration of last year, I honestly do. ... There are no issues with LaMarr (Woodley). There are no issues on our team." Roethlisberger is just trying to be a leader in shooting down some fairly public issues, but that's more than he would have sometimes done in the past. Age will be a bigger concern than chemistry for the Steelers in 2013.

The Steelers have completed a restructuring of Ben Roethlisberger's contract, clearing $3 million in cap space.
Details aren't available yet, but two sides were working to reduce Roethlisberger's $19.595 million cap number without extending the length of his deal. Expect some of his base salary to be converted into a bonus, which can be prorated over the next three years. The eight-year, $102 million deal Big Ben signed in March of 2008 exires after the 2015 season.

NFL.com reports the Steelers are renegotiating Ben Roethlisberger's contract, and could reach an agreement "by the end of the week."
Per reporter Albert Breer, the restructuring won't take place in the form of an extension. Roethlisberger's current cap number is a prohibitive $19.595 million, $11.6 million of which comes in the form of his base salary. A good chunk of that should be converted to a bonus, which can be prorated over the final three years of his deal. Ben is signed through 2015. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Steelers are also restructuring ILB Lawrence Timmons' deal.