Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays the last several weeks and with him not playing overly well in the team’s first five games of the season, several fans of the team are curious if him sitting out at the start of weeks is somewhat playing a role in that.
During his weekly Tuesday morning interview on 93.7 The Fan, Roethlisberger was asked if he wants to be a full participant in this week’s Wednesday practice due to him playing so poorly on Sunday in the team’s home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It’s usually about how my body is reacting from the game Sunday,” Roethlisberger said. “You know, if I have a little injury, or a little ding, or my knee’s hurting, or whatever. So, really it will be one of those that tomorrow morning, when I get there, go through my normal morning routine and I’ll talk to Coach Randy [Fichtner] and Coach [Mike] Tomlin and we’ll decide how much.
“I usually participate on Wednesday in individuals and the first period, the first drills and things like that just to kind of get practice going and get out there. And so, really it’s just going to see how my body feels. Obviously, I want to be out there, but I also understand that it’s still a long season and you have to protect your body as it gets older and as the season gets going.”
About an hour after Roethlisberger’s interview ended, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked during his weekly press conference if he’d detail what all goes into the decision of whether or not Roethlisberger practices on Wednesdays.
“Just our plan,” Tomlin said. “Not only in terms of his overall readiness, short-term and long, but the overall readiness of Landry Jones, short-term and long.”
