Steelers News: Is Ben Roethlisberger returning better actually possible?

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at whether it is even possible for Ben Roethlisberger to return better than he was before injuring his throwing elbow last season in Week 2.

Let’s get to the news:

• Could “Bionic” Big Ben be better than just Big Ben? That is the question...

Steelers ‘Believe it or Not’: Ben Roethlisberger will be back as good as ever

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The building of the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers is about to begin.

NFL free agency starts March 18. The NFL Draft begins April 23.

So let’s take a look at some of the things the Steelers have told us about what they plan to do this offseason and if we believe them.

Or if we think they are blowing smoke.

Quotes from Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert at the NFL Combine (Feb. 25)

Here’s what Colbert said about his starting quarterback and the elbow surgery he needed after just two games in 2019.

“We might have a better Ben Roethlisberger coming out of the surgery. He sat for this year and didn’t have the wear and tear on his body for a year. Sure, he had a significant surgery but we’re optimistic he might be better.”

“I think the possibility is real that he could be a better football player coming out of this surgery, just as much as he might be a more regressed football player. So I think we have to give that the nod. So again, I’m encouraged and excited where he can go.”

“We are very optimistic that this could be a better Ben Roethlisberger.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• A complete run down of Ben Roethlisberger’s injury, recovery and timetable to return.

FAQ: Ben Roethlisberger’s injury, rehab and return to the Steelers

By: Brooke Pryor, ESPN

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is throwing a football again, and that’s great news for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers posted a video last month of Roethlisberger throwing for the first time since his Week 2 elbow injury ended his season. While it’s a good first step to his return to the field, there’s still a long way to go before Roethlisberger plays in a game.

Roethlisberger isn’t the only Steelers quarterback working back from surgery. Mason Rudolph, who helped handle starting duties after Roethlisberger’s injury, had surgery to repair the sternoclavicular joint in his left shoulder following a dislocation sustained Week 16 against the Jets. Rudolph has been given the green light from doctors and also recently resumed throwing, according to a source.

While Roethlisberger continues to work his way back from the elbow surgery, Rudolph is expected to take the bulk of the first-team reps through minicamp, OTAs and the early goings of training camp. That’s a big benefit to the third-year quarterback, who struggled at times in 2019. Halfway through his rookie contract, Rudolph will now have another opportunity to prove himself to Steelers brass in the offseason and training camp.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• B.J. Finney wants to stay put, but that doesn’t mean it is a reality.

Finney hoping to stay put

By: Tereas Varley, Steelers.com

B.J. Finney stopped for a moment, collected his thoughts, and did his best not to get too emotional.

But he didn’t succeed.

And you can understand why.

Finney grew up a Steelers fan and when he was signed by the team as an undrafted rookie free agent back in 2015, it was a dream come true.

”Growing up, watching football with my dad, it was always the Steelers on Sundays, black and gold, no other option,” said Finney, who grew up in Kansas. “We don’t have a tie to Pennsylvania. He just watched the 1970s dynasty and fell in love with them and that’s the way I grew up. I fell in love watching this franchise.”

What Finney is hoping for now is that the dream continues. He will become an unrestricted free agent on March 18 and his hope is to remain in the black and gold.

”There is nothing more my wife and I would love than to be back in Pittsburgh,” said Finney, trying to hold the emotions in. “We love the city. We love the people. This franchise, the organization with how they have helped us navigate difficult times in our life. The people that we have met and grown to love here, this really is a special place. We would love to come back.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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