Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger taking injury rehab slowly with OTAs canceled

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was going to be ready for the team's offseason workouts. That was until the NFL canceled OTAs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With everything either postponed or canceled, Roethlisberger took the time to discuss his injury rehab process — noting he's now taking a step back and taking things slowly with the uncertainty that the 2020 season gets underway on time. 

“I was going to be ready to go for OTAs and the minicamps,” Roethlisberger told The Athletic on Monday in a telephone interview, according to Ed Bouchette. “That was going to be the plan. Now I don’t know how much I was going to do, I don’t know if I was going to be doing team stuff or stuff like that, but I would have been definitely going to be out there ready to go.”

Roethlisberger had elbow surgery in September and said that his elbow has never felt as good as it does now. That surgery probably was the best thing that's happened to the 38-year-old, and it could help rejuvenate his career.

“The doctor is very ultra-conservative moving forward. We’re just trying to be smart, and putting the brakes on me a lot because I was kind of ‘Go, go go.’ You know me, trying to get back out there,” the QB said.

Right now, Roethlisberger says his rehab consists mainly of throwing and trying to prepare for the 2020 season. He throws footballs with a microchip in them that records data like spin rate and velocity and then compares his numbers with those from 2018 to see where he's at. 

In 2018, Roethlisberger went 9-6-1 with a 67 percent completion percentage, 5,129 yards (career high) and 34 touchdowns. It'll probably be difficult for him to match those numbers in 2020 with the team around him, but if his elbow truly feels the best it ever has, things could go pretty well in the upcoming season.