[ad_1]
Updated 12 hours ago
The unanimous consensus among the Pittsburgh Steelers who spoke after Friday's practice was that Ben Roethlisberger was playing Sunday at Heinz Field.
"Seven" will be ready, said running back Steven Ridley. "For sure, we are not worried about Ben.
Roethlisberger's teammates may not doubt that he will play in the Steelers' first game against the Chiefs. But will he be at his best?
Did the elbow that was injured when Genard Avery of the Browns sent him back late last weekend in Cleveland, allows Roethlisberger to be close to 100%?
This is a more relevant question.
"He did not have his normal zip," receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said of Roethlisberger's passes in Friday's practice. "But it was his first day back. (He slowly takes the time, taking the time to return to the current).
"But he is not here to do it as he is supposed to do if he practiced all this time."
After missing out on Wednesday and Thursday, Roethlisberger was back in full capacity on Friday, performing his usual routine with the first-team attack, Smith-Schuster said.
This has allayed his team mates' fears that he may miss a match because of an injury for the third time only since mid-2015, as usually under coach Mike Tomlin, players who do not practice on Friday are excluded from Sunday games.
"He was taking the time to come back," said Smith-Schuster. "… But finally, it's the day of the match, it's the time of the game, you will play with your boys. I think that's what he's going to do.
On the Steelers' official injury report, Roethlisberger was considered dubious to play against the Chiefs.
"He is a tough guy; we are never really worried about him, "said center Maurkice Pouncey. "All the time, he takes big hits in the game, so he wants to stay a few days, he is fine."
Roethlisberger took some big shots last Sunday at 21-21 in Cleveland, when he was sacked four times in a match for the first time since September 25, 2016. His elbow was injured in the penultimate match offensive late. in overtime when Browns' Genard Avery dismissed him.
Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning that it was "just … a hematoma; it will be fine. He declined to comment on Friday.
But as receiver Antonio Brown has said, he seems to sum up the feeling of Roethlisberger's teammates regarding the dubious official designation: "Ben is the best in the world; I do not know why you seem to doubt him.
After playing a full 16-game schedule only once in his first nine seasons, Roethlisberger has remained relatively healthy since 2013, missing only five starts due to an injury over the last five seasons.
Landry Jones or Mike Vick started these games in his place, but this season, the Steelers have no reliable support for veterans. None of the other two quarters (Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolphh) participated in an NFL game during the regular season.
Dobbs surprisingly won the quarterback position at his second NFL training camp last month. He would start if Roethlisberger could not play.
But his receivers Friday did not even indulge in the suggestion that Dobbs would throw Sunday.
Brown bluntly rejected it: "We worry about Ben now."
Denial? The Steelers say they have seen Roethlisberger play despite an injury too often to believe he will not have this time.
"Yeah, he did not practice, but he will go play and play," said Smith-Schuster. "He does it, what, 15 years? I mean all his life, honestly. You see how big he is, how hard he is. It's nothing new.
"He's a hard guy, man."
Hey, Nation Steeler, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Chris at [email protected] or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.
[ad_2]
Source link
