Steelers’ Roethlisberger to have elbow surgery; will miss remainder of season
PITTSBURGH – On Monday, head coach Mike Tomlin announced that the MRI on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury will require surgery. He will be placed on injured reserve and miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
Roethlisberger was taken out of the Steelers’ loss to Seattle on Sunday just before halftime after favoring his elbow on several throws. Big Ben returned to the sidelines quickly, but only sported a baseball cap. He did not return to the game. Second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph played in Ben’s stead for the remainder of the game. He will now serve as the Steelers’ starting quarterback.
The details of how severe the injury is aren’t yet clear. If it will be similar to Tommy John surgery, a common surgery to reconstruct the UCL ligament that pitchers in baseball undergo, the timetable for his return is foggy. The timetable for pitchers in baseball for Tommy John surgeries is 12-15 months minimum. Throwing a football and baseball are two completely different motions, but it would be a significant time away from football for Ben nonetheless.
The average age for pitchers that undergo Tommy John surgery is 21 years old. Roethlisberger is 37 and the human body does not simply recover the same way in your late-30’s than your early 20’s. Speculation has already arisen from media and fans alike that Ben’s career could be over. Ben has yet to make any formal statements on that.
Even though Mason Rudolph played well in Ben’s absence, this is obviously a huge blow to the Steelers. They are in an 0-2 hole and just lost their franchise quarterback.
We will continue to monitor the situation and report any breaking news on this story.
