The Pittsburgh Steelers somewhat surprisingly signed free agent tight end Eric Ebron to a two-year, $12 million contract a few weeks ago and supposedly quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a small role in getting that to happen. Roethlisberger reportedly lobbied the Steelers to sign Ebron after meeting the former first-round draft pick out of North Carolina earlier in the offseason during a Christian-based conference in January.
On Wednesday, Roethlisberger was a guest on DVE Radio and during the interview he was asked if he’s excited about now having Ebron in the fold.
“I am,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m excited for what he could potentially bring to us and opposite Vance [McDonald] and kinda, you know, stretch the middle of the field. “I’d like to do some stuff with him on the outside and maybe get some matchup opportunities that are favorable to us. So, I can’t wait to get to work with him.”
With Roethlisberger still rehabbing his elbow and Ebron still not yet 100 percent from his December ankle surgery, it might be a while before the two players can get together and connect on passes. By the sound of things, the annual OTA sessions and mini camps are likely to be wiped from the calendar due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. If that’s the case, Roethlisberger’s first pass to Ebron might just come during training camp.
While it might take Roethlisberger and Ebron some extra time to get on the same page as one another, hopefully the Steelers new tight end can immediately make an impact on offense inside the red zone early in 2020 season. Since 2015, Ebron’s second season in the NFL, he has registered 20 red zone touchdown receptions and only 13 other players have recorded more.
Last season minus Roethlisberger the Steelers offense was putrid in the red zone. The unit finished last in the NFL in red zone scoring percentage having converted just 35% of all red zone trips on the season into touchdowns.
