PITTSBURGH _ Ben Roethlisberger said he has had no setbacks from his elbow surgery and is excited about not having pain in his right arm after any of his throwing sessions, including a heavy workout on Monday.
He also said he is in great shape physically and mentally and is as light as he's been in more than a dozen years.
"My arm feels really good," Roethlisberger said Tuesday. "I threw a lot of balls (Monday) and waking up today to see how it feels, it feels great. And that's what I was anticipating."
It is the first time Roethlisberger has spoken publicly to a group of media since he had elbow surgery on his right arm in September with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
Roethlisberger had a heavy throwing session Monday at Heinz Field _ the first time he has attempted a pass there since Week 2 last season when he left the game against Seattle after the second quarter. And he will have another one Tuesday at training camp.
"I've had no setbacks," Roethlisberger said on a Zoom call. "It feels really good. I was really excited about that."
Roethlisberger said he is also excited about not having any issues at all in his throwing elbow. He said that has not been the case the past couple seasons, when he dealt with a nagging elbow problems that he said were never serious enough to sideline him.
But all that came to a painful and debilitating end 11 months ago when he felt a different sensation on his arm after a deep pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second quarter against the Seahawks.
"I just felt a different pain that I never felt before," Roethlisberger said. "It was shooting down my arm. I knew something was different at that moment."
Roethlisberger said he gave a brief thought that the surgery might be the end of his career after 16 seasons, but "it wasn't a long one." He did not have Tommy John surgery because he did not damage the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Rather, Roethlisberger had to have three of the five flexor tendons that tore away from the bone reattached. Those tendons are what allow quarterbacks to "spin" the ball.
Roethlisberger said he was unaware of any other quarterback having surgery to reattach three tendons, but former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme had Tommy John surgery in 2007 to repair the UCL and reattach all five tendons. Delhomme came back to start all 16 games in 2008.
"I felt like I wasn't done with football," Roethlisberger said. "I really wanted to come back. I was excited about this team.
"I still want to win Lombardis. And I say that with a plural."
Then he added, "I still have a lot left in the tank."
It is unlikely Roethlisberger would have appeared in any preseason games, if there were any. But Roethlisberger said he was actually hoping to be able to play in a game, even on a limited basis, before the scheduled Sept. 14 season opener against the New York Giants.
"You'd probably never hear a 17-year veteran say he misses preseason, but I was kind of excited to get out there," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know if coach (Tomlin) would let me play, but I wanted to get in there and get a feel. The first time you're out there, everything is on the line and the guys are counting on you. I don't want to let the guys down."
As has been the custom for the past number of seasons, Roethlisberger will be given days off during training camp and during the regular season. He said he will be on something of a "pitch count" during training camp. Nonetheless, the Steelers will try to develop some game situations for him in practice to get him ready for the real thing.
"Well, we will have to take advantage of those game situations that we can present for him against our defense," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "Naturally, the first thing is, we kind of have to get a feel for where he is at with his body. And his arm will tell us. It is not unusual for us to work a day or half a day and give a day's rest. He knows that routine. It is a little different routine, a different kind of camp. We will have to play that by ear, eventually, and how he feels and how much he wants. There are times where he wants it all and we have to back him off, and that is a good thing."
