Ben Roethlisberger has been as quiet as a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback can be since injuring his right elbow in the Steelers' second game of the 2019 season.
Roethlisberger has been visible, both on the Steelers' sideline and on social media, throwing passes and things of that nature. But he hadn't spoken to the media since suffering his season-ended elbow injury last year.
But the now 38-year-old quarterback is back on the field at the Steelers' training camp at Heinz Field and said Tuesday he's extremely excited about the potential of what the 2020 season holds for the team.
The Steelers have one of the league's top defenses. They have a veteran offensive line coming back that was built to protect Roethlisberger. And they have a young, improving group of skill position players who had to learn on the fly last season without their star quarterback on the field.
They return 10 of 11 starters on both offense and defense. They also have something of an underdog status in the AFC, where the Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions and the Ravens won the AFC North last year with a 14-2 record.
"Well, we just need a quarterback now," said Roethlisberger. "I think it’s fun. I know a lot of guys like to be on top, be hunted. Sometimes it’s fun to be the underdog, to be overlooked. We do have a great defense. That’s one of the reasons I was excited about coming back, was to play with a group like that. They let you play more free as a quarterback. And obviously my line and all the skill guys we have. It’s OK, we can be overlooked. It’s the offseason. No one knows what the season is going to hold or entail."
A year ago at this time, there was some buzz about the Steelers, much of it bad. They had traded disgruntled Antonio Brown in the offseason. Running back Le'Veon Bell had left in free agency. The "Killer Bs" were largely just Roethlisberger.
But he played just six quarters in 2019, pulling himself out at halftime of the team's 28-26 loss to the Seahawks in their home opener. He completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 351 yards with one interception last season.
"I’ve had a little bit of an injury in that elbow for several years. It’s just something I’ve dealt with," Roethlisberger said. "It was never serious enough to do anything with. Specifically on that drive, the pain wasn’t going away. I threw a deep one to JuJu (Smith-Schuster) down the right side and I really felt a different pain and different discomfort than I ever felt and it was shooting down my arm. I knew something was different at that moment."
He didn't play again in 2019.
There was a lot of speculation regarding the kind of injury Roethlisberger had suffered. The Steelers never specifically said what it was.
Roethlisberger cleared things up Tuesday.
"There’s no real name for it. It’s not Tommy John or anything like that," Roethlisberger said. "There are flexor tendons that are attached to your elbow, five of them. I tore three of them off the bone. They go in and they sew through the tendon and attach it to an anchor in your elbow. As far as I am aware, it’s happened to everyday people on the street. From what I’ve been told, it’s never happened to a quarterback to this magnitude. I believe there was at least another quarterback who had one, maybe two torn off, from what I understand, not three."
It created a lengthy rehab process that didn't allow him to actually start throwing a football again until February.
But Roethlisberger's confidence that he wanted to return, even though he has done essentially everything a player can do in the NFL in his previous 16 seasons, never wavered.
"I knew it hurt and I knew I had some options, but I just didn’t feel I was done playing football," Roethlisberger said. "I really felt that I wanted to come back. I was excited about this team. I just didn’t, and I don’t, feel like I’m done playing football yet, so if it was a thought, it wasn’t a long one to stop."
He wanted to go out on his own terms.
"Any athlete, any competitor will tell you they want to go out on their own terms," Roethlisberger said. "It doesn’t happen all the time. We don’t always get lucky, whether that’s trades, cuts, injuries, whatever it is. I think if I felt I was closer to the end, it might have been more of a decision for me to think longer about coming back. I didn’t feel I’m close to that yet.
"I’m not saying I’ve got 10 years left in me, but I definitely feel like I’ve got some years left in me. That was definitely a motivating factor, to show that I still have it in the tank. I still have a lot to give this team. I still have a lot to give the fans. And I still want to win Lombardis. And I said that with a plural on the end."
In 2018, he led the NFL with a team-record 5,129 passing yards and a career-best 34 touchdown passes. He also threw 16 interceptions, which led the NFL. But his interception percentage -- number of interceptions thrown per 100 passes -- of 2.4 was his lowest since 2013 and less than his career average of 2.6 per 100 passes.
With Roethlisberger sidelined, the Steelers turned to 2018 third-round draft pick Mason Rudolph and undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges for the remainder of the season. The Steelers went 5-3 in Rudolph's starts and 3-3 when Hodges was under center.
That time on the sideline, watching, taking in the big picture, could help Roethlisberger be a better quarterback in 2020. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has said that several times in the offseason. Roethlisberger believes it, as well.
"I do think I can be better than I’ve been in the past. Not dealing with a nagging elbow is something," he said. "I’m not saying it was every day that it bothered me. But to feel healthy, to feel more in shape is something. Obviously, you can’t turn back Father Time and make myself feel like I’m 21 and run all over the field. But you can go on the field at an older age and feel really good. I feel that way now. I feel mentally sharp.
"I think I was more involved with (offensive coordinator) Randy (Fichtner) last year, having the headset on, hearing the communication from the coaches and players. When you’re playing, you only have so much time to communicate with receivers, with the linemen and then look at the pictures and all the things that go into in between series. Last year, I was able to watch more because I was able to see more of the big picture, if you will. Then I was able to speak to more guys on the sideline and communicate what I saw, what did they see? It was beneficial."
The Steelers didn't draft or bring in another quarterback this season, deciding to stick with Roethlisberger, who signed a two-year, $68-million contract extension last offseason that runs through the end of the 2021 season. The team also restructured that deal this offseason to create cap space, meaning Roethlisberger counts $23.75 million against the salary cap this season and $41.25 million in 2021.
They would see $19 million in cap space freed up if he is released or retires after this season, but Roethlisberger has said he intends to play out the remainder of this current deal and the Steelers have expressed that they would like that to happen, as well.
What happens after that, as he would be 40 going into the 2022 season, remains to be seen.
But in the here and now, the goal remains to get ready to play the 2020 season and see what happens. The Steelers will have just 14 padded practices and no preseason games to judge whether Roethlisberger is ready to go.
He threw Monday for the first time at Heinz Field and was scheduled to throw again Tuesday afternoon. But, he's also on a "pitch count," similar to what he's been in recent years. And without preseason games in which to work, every practice on the field is going to be critical as the Steelers ramp up for their regular season opener Sept. 14 against the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
"I bet you’d never think you would hear a 17-year vet say he misses the preseason a little bit, but I actually kind of was excited about getting out there a little bit," Roethlisberger said. "I don’t know if Coach (Mike Tomlin) would have let me, but I would have asked him because I want to get in there and get the feel of it again.
"It is definitely going to be different knowing the first time you’re out there it’s on the line and guys are going to be counting on you. It’s a lot more added pressure. I have pressure on myself, obviously, but I don’t want to let the guys down. I want to do everything I can to make sure I’m playing my best or at least not hurting the team when the time comes not having that extra preseason stuff."
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