Ben Roethlisberger debunks rumors of extended timeline of his return to the Steelers lineup

Since the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, and Ben Roethlisberger was lost with a torn meniscus, timetables for his return almost immediately began circulating.

If you’ve done this job enough, you typically look at all the projections and take the average to get a realistic ballpark figure of how long the player could be out of the lineup, barring any type of setback. With Roethlisberger’s injury there were experts, who quoted “sources”, who gave a 1-3 week timeline, and then ESPN’s Chris Mortenson threw out a 4-6 timeline which put Steelers Nation in a tizzy.

Just as recently as this past Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter echoed the same time frame as Mortenson, only to have Jason La Confora of CBS Sports continue to state Roethlisberger is on pace to play in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Either way, Roethlisberger addressed, and debunked, the rumors of him being out longer than originally expected Tuesday on his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.

“It’s amazing how these reports come out when it’s not like we had practiced all week. Nothing has happened. Nothing has changed since last week when I did some individual work. I’m not really sure where the reports come from,” Roethlisberger said. “Everyone’s got the insider information, but we know the plan. The plan has been the same as it’s been, take it one day at a time.”

Fans who were concerned about when No. 7 will be under center didn’t get any new information from Roethlisberger, or from Mike Tomlin in his weekly press conference, but they did finally hear how the time frame for him to return remains what it always was — when he is healthy enough to play.

That doesn’t appease many fans who want a hard date and time for his arrival, being the beginning of Ravens week certainly doesn’t help, but it is the honest truth. Roethlisberger has practiced at the beginning of last week before the bye, and again after the break. No one will truly know how close he is to playing until the end of the week.

Until then, don’t listen to those claiming they have inside information regarding Roethlisberger’s injury.

To hear the entire interview with Roethlisberger, simply click play on the player below: