Ben Roethlisberger is back as the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers entering the 2020 NFL season. After missing most of the 2019 season following a serious elbow injury, Roethlisberger is hoping to come back and lead his team to the postseason once again.
During the 2019 season, Roethlisberger ended up playing in just two games. He completed 56.5 percent of his pass attempts for 351 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Back in 2018, Roethlisberger completed 67 percent of his passes for 5,129 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 16 picks.
Obviously, those numbers in 2018 were solid and showed that Big Ben still had some good football left in the tank. Unfortunately, the injury may have been a major setback for him that took some of that time away.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, at least one NFL executive has major concerns about the Steelers’ quarterback. He shared them via an article published on The Athletic.
“I’m concerned,” an exec said. “Ben is a little bit like Philip Rivers, a statue back there now, and there are durability concerns. Things have to be right, and he does not have the same weapons he had the last time he played for a long period of time. I saw him in the tunnel last season and, my God, he had that beard going and looked more like one of their offensive linemen.”
Those concerns are more than valid. Roethlisberger is no longer capable of moving around and getting away from pressure. That leaves him vulnerable to taking some big-time hits.
At 38 years of age and coming off of a major injury, that isn’t something the Steelers want to see happen.
Speaking of the weapons he will have to work with, the Steelers still have a good number of them. JuJu Smith-Schuster is still a star, Chase Claypool is a talented rookie, and other names like Diontae Johnson and James Washington can make plays a well. Roethlisberger also has James Conner and Jaylen Samuels in the backfield.
Only time will tell whether or not Ben Roethlisberger is capable of playing for another year or two after 2020. It won’t be easy. Coming back from an elbow injury is tough even for younger quarterbacks.
It will be interesting to see what kind of season Roethlisberger puts together for the Steelers, but there is one thing that fans already are confident about. That would be the fact that Roethlisberger will bring everything he has to the field.
