I’m sure if you asked Ben Roethlisberger if he is ready to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, he’d give a myriad of reasons why he is good to go.
For starters, he’s provided evidence that he’s getting pretty close based the on the work he’s done in 7 on 7 passing drills the past two days. Speaking to NFL HQ after Wednesday’s practice, Markus Wheaton made it clear that Roethlisberger is showing no signs of rust in passing drills after missing the past two starts with a knee injury, “He looked good…Looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, honestly.”
Add the extra motivation to get on the field against his former offensive coordinator and current Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, and I can only imagine the private discussions going on between Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, and the Steelers medical staff.
Roethlisberger has a history with Arians that included a Super Bowl title, and to this day are extremely close. Nothing would make the Steelers franchise quarterback happier than to be out on the field against his old mentor.
All that being said, the decision to rule Roethlisberger out earlier this afternoon was absolutely the right one.
Less than four weeks have passed since Roethlisberger severely sprained his MCL along with deep bone bruise that was supposed to keep him out for upwards of six weeks. Yes, Roethlisberger has shown the ability to bounce back from injuries quickly and play through pain, but this time around the risk of rushing him back is simply too great.
The Steelers already got more awful news on the injury front, as All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey experienced a significant setback from his leg injury and is now likely going to miss the entire season for the second time in three years.
Losing Pouncey for the season is a big deal, clearly. Losing Roethlisberger for the season is a totally different ballgame.
Remember, the Steelers won a Super Bowl with Jeff Hartwig at center and agonizingly close to another two years later with Doug Legursky replacing an injured Pouncey in Super Bowl XLV.
Each time the Steelers had a healthy Roethlisberger, who clearly is the one irreplaceable piece to the Steelers championship aspirations.
Although some might say that’s all the more reason to get Roethlisberger back on the field after watching Michael Vick struggle mightily to get the Steelers passing game rolling, two factors make waiting at least another week the right choice.
The first is simply put, the win against the Chargers was absolutely huge and makes the non-conference match up with Arizona much less crucial. Sure, the Steelers better get a win if they want to keep within range of the undefeated Bengals, but at 3-2, the Steelers are firmly entrenched in the Wild Card mix regardless of the outcome Sunday.
Second, putting Roethlisberger on the field before his need has gained enough strength and stability to play at game speed would be short sighted and potentially fatal to the Steelers season. Regardless of what might be said by Roethlisberger behind closed doors, he needs more time to heal and be ready for the remainder of the season.
As difficult as it is to see Roethlisberger on the sidelines for a third straight start, the Steelers made the right decision waiting.
And the long term outcome of doing that may be huge dividends later.
