In his first time speaking with a group of reporters since Sept. 11, 2019, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was candid about his season-ending elbow injury.
The elbow is something that had been nagging at Big Ben for a couple of years, but he never felt it was serious enough to do anything about it.
It wasn’t until Week 2 versus the Seahawks that the typical distress he felt was much worse.
On a deep attempt to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ben said, “… It was shooting down my arm. I knew something was different at that moment.”
“I knew it hurt, and I knew I had some options,” he said. “I just didn’t feel like I was done playing football… If it was a thought, it wasn’t a long one to really stop.”
Roethlisberger was medically cleared in February to throw a football. Since he began a throwing program, he said he’s had no setbacks. “It feels really, really good.”
He started throwing again with teammates in May and said he’s been throwing more than usual this offseason.
“I feel strong and healthy and young; if you can feel young at this age,” said Roethlisberger.
The moment everyone has been waiting for happened Monday — Roethlisberger started throwing again at training camp.
Ben said he’s feeling no ill-effects of getting back into the groove. “My arm feels really good. I threw a lot of balls yesterday.” He also shared that he will have a “pitch count” during camp to ensure he’s not overusing it.
