Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to the Steelers South Side facility on Monday and rejoined his teammates for afternoon meetings as his 4 game suspension is now over. According to Steelers Digest, the Steelers requested, and received, a temporary roster exemption for Roethlisberger and don\’t have to clear a spot for him just yet on the 53 man roster. In all likelihood, the Steelers are using every loophole in order to properly evaluate Ben over the bye week and not have to release a player while they do so. After the bye, the Steelers will likely be forced to then make a roster move and officially release defensive tackle Steve McLendon, who was signed to the active roster on Saturday. This roster exemption was likely planned all along except the Steelers had hoped that they could of held off on placing Dennis Dixon on injured reserve. When backup nose tackle Chris Hoke injured his MCL late against Tampa, the Steelers needed another defensive lineman and were forced to prematurely move Dixon to IR to make room for McLendon. I would not read anything more into this roster exemption than what it is and that is the Steelers taking advantage of the NFL rules to their full potential.
