The Steelers are reportedly split on whether to match the $2.5 million offer sheet the Patriots gave wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, but Adam Schefter reports that Ben Roethlisberger is at least one guy in Pittsburgh who wants Sanders to stick around.
Tomlin “He made all the necessary throws today”
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) December 5, 2012
This vague, one liner from Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin is all we have to go on regarding the recuperation of Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers QB, recovering from a sprained right shoulder, threw a few dozen passes on Wednesday in his first serious workout since suffering the injury on November 12th.
”I’m getting there,” Roethlisberger said. ”I’ve got to talk to (tight end) Heath (Miller). He’s my barometer. He lets me know how close I am to 100 percent on velocity and stuff like that.”
”I thought it was a positive day for Ben,” Tomlin said. ”He threw the ball around both vertically and horizontally. I thought the ball had good velocity, particularly in a few instances. So, it was positive.”
If he’s good to go, and we’ve been jerked around regarding Ben’s status before, Roethlisberger will face a Chargers pass defense that has been destroyed in recent weeks, giving up 21 touchdowns and 241 yards per game in 12 contests. We’ll get a better sense of Roethlisberger’s status tomorrow so be sure to check back as the week progresses.
Whether or not you start any Steeler this weekend once again hinges on Ben Roethlisberger’s health. And whether or not you’d like to believe that Roethlisberger is starting depends on which words pop up on your computer screen first. So we’ll give you all the words, and then we can all be confused together.
The injury beat rolls on during the worst Friday ever, although this latest development should be greeted with zero surprise. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t playing this week, according to Albert Breer.
Hide your wife, hide your kids, and bench all your Steelers.
To the Charlie Batch supporters group out there — I’m sure you exist — I apologize. We have some bad news.
“Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported Sunday morning that doctors think there’s no longer a risk of further injury because of the dislocated rib he suffered against the Chiefs in Week 10. There was a fear that the rib could pose a threat to arteries and blood vessels if Roethlisberger returned too soon from the injury. Per Mortensen’s report, he’s out of the woods on that front and ready to start working toward a return to game action.”
Big Ben’s return is contingent on his ability to tolerate pain in the coming week, but it’s safe to assume Mike Tomlin & Co. have a vested interest in Roethlisberger starting against Baltimore next Sunday. With playoff hopes on the line it’s Big Ben or bust for the black and gold.
UPDATE: The Steelers’ quarterback situation may be about to go from bad to horrific. After Leftwich struggled throughout much of last night’s game with a shoulder injury of his own, the Steelers are reportedly concerned he could be out “for a while,” according to Jason La Canfora. With Roethlisberger still expected to miss a few more weeks, they’ll likely workout and explore other quarterbacks this week, because there’s a possibly we’ll get a Charlie Batch sighting in Week 12 when Pittsburgh visits Cleveland. Choosing between either Batch or a limited Leftwich is certain fantasy death for Wallace, Brown (if he’s healthy), and Emmanuel Sanders.
Around these parts, our focus is primarily singular, or at least it is during the NFL season. Fantasy football and betting is our game, with a little bit of tape work on the side. Everything has a fantasy angle, even if it’s admittedly a loose, reaching one.
I’m writing those words almost apologetically at the beginning of a post in which the fantasy impact of Ben Roethlisberger’s injury will again be discussed briefly. Sometimes — well, oftentimes — life is a little more important than football, or fantasy football. That’s why we hopefully won’t see Big Ben for a while still, because nerve damage isn’t cool.
Update 5:04 pm
Per ESPN’s Bob Holtzman, doctors have advised Big Ben to not return until his rib is completely healed, and “that could take up to 6 weeks.”
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 14, 2012
Yikes. That doesn’t sound good at all.
