As expected, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had outpatient surgery Monday morning to repair the meniscus in his left knee that he damaged in the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. Head coach Mike Tomlin released a statement on Monday in which he updated the status of his quarterback.
Coach Mike Tomlin issues statement following the procedure on Ben Roethlisberger's left knee. pic.twitter.com/qkjkMaG1Od
— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) October 17, 2016
As you can see, there is no timetable for when Roethlisberger will be able to return to action. With that said, he almost certainly will miss Sunday’s home game against the New England Patriots. The Steelers bye is in Week 8 and their next game following that will be in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens. The hope is that Roethlisberger will be healthy enough to play in that game.
While everyone will point to the fact that San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers didn’t miss a game in 2007 after suffering a similar injury to Roethlisberger’s, it’s important to point out that he had half of his meniscus removed in order to do so.
For now, expect backup Landry Jones to start Sunday against the Patriots and be backed up by Zach Mettenberger.
