While the exact nature of Ben Roethlisberger’s pending elbow surgery is unknown, he has avoided the dreaded Tommy John surgery, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who provided a few new updates on the injury.
“No one is concerned that next year is going to be a problem,” Schefter’s source said regarding Roethlisberger’s 2020 future.
This falls in line with everything the team and Roethlisberger have said. Both have expressed confidence and a determination to return for next season. Big Ben has vowed to play out his contract that’s set to take him through 2021. That’s why it was always silly to see the national media fret over the team considering drafting a QB in next year’s draft. Was never going to happen.
For now, the Mason Rudolph era begins at 4:25/EST. He’ll make his first NFL start today against the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers are desperately looking for a win to climb out of their 0-2 start. According to Pro Football Reference, of the 216 teams since the merger who started 0-3, only six of them made the playoffs. The Houston Texans are a recent example, doing so last year, with the 1998 Buffalo Bills were the team before that.
Teams who begin the year 1-2 have a 21.5% of making the playoffs, like last year’s New England Patriots, who started slow out of the gate before going on the win the Super Bowl. Based off that data, today is make or break for the Steelers.
UPDATE: According to Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports, Roethlisberger will make a full return from elbow surgery in 2020, as he avoided any ligament or tendon damage when injured in Week 2, and his recovery plan includes beginning throwing this spring, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
