We last saw six-time Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the football field back in September of 2019. The veteran signal caller suffered a serious elbow injury to his throwing arm and had to undergo season-ending surgery.
Lost in everything during off-season programs that were canceled due to the ongoing pandemic is the fact that Big Ben has been working himself back into shape.
There’s now good news on this front for Pittsburgh Steelers fans.
Ben Roethlisberger says he’s had no setbacks, is good to go for training camp
The Super Bowl champion told reporters on Tuesday that he has not suffered any setbacks in regards to his elbow. He’s good to go for camp, but will still be on a pitch count.
This is great news for a Steelers team that had to require on a combination of to unimpressive quarterbacks in that of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges a season ago.
Pittsburgh is putting all of its eggs into Big Ben’s elbow basket this coming season. The only other quarterback on the team’s roster outside of these three is former Denver Broncos first-round bust Paxton Lynch.
Can Ben Roethlisberger return to normal?
At 38 years old, this is a major question mark surrounding the Steelers. Back in 2018, Roethlisberger led the NFL in completions, attempts and passing yards. He also led the league with 16 interceptions.
Even prior to Roethlisberger’s injury, there was some thought given to the idea that Pittsburgh needed to find a quarterback of the future. Playing under a two-year, $68 million extension he signed with the Steelers back in 2019, Roethlisberger is under contract through the 2021 campaign.
The other good news Big Ben reported on Tuesday is that he’s at his lowest playing weight in well over a decade. This is also important in that it’s going to help the veteran quarterback remain capable of starting for Pittsburgh over the short term.