Ben Roethlisberger’s MRI reveals season-ending surgery

Ben Roethlisberger’s season is over. According to head coach Mike Tomlin, Roethlisberger’s MRI on Monday revealed surgery will be required. The following statement was issued on Steelers.com.

Statement by Mike Tomlin on Ben Roethlisberger: Ben Roethlisberger had an MRI on his right elbow Sunday evening and it was determined by the Steelers’ medical team that surgery will be required. We expect the surgery will be scheduled for this week. He will be placed on our Reserve/Injured List and is out for the season.

Entering his 16th season in the NFL, Roethlisberger is now the longest-tenured Steeler as 2019 marked Ben Roethlisberger playing more seasons than the Steelers original “Iron Man” Mike Webster. The game Sunday in Pittsburgh signified Roethlisberger’s 239th for the Steelers which put him in a tie with Webster in games played for the black and gold.

The two-time Super Bowl champion has been a Pro Bowl selection six times in his career and lead the league in passing yards in 2018 with his career-high 5,129 yards. In 2018, Roethlisberger also had career highs in passing attempts (675), completions (452) and touchdowns (34).

When it comes to the playoffs, Roethlisberger’s 13-8 record is the fifth best winning percentage of active quarterbacks with at least five playoff starts. When comparing his winning percentage in the playoffs to all players since the 1970’s merger, Roethlisberger ranks 20th among quarterbacks with five starts or more.

In 2019, Roethlisberger started with 35 completions on 62 attempts for 351 yards. He did not thrown a touchdown and had one interception with a 0-2 record.

With Rothlisberger out for the season, Mason Rudolph will step in to the full-time quarterback role. In the second half of the game on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards. Rudolph threw two touchdowns and one interception due to a dropped pass in the loss.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain as this story develops.