The Steelers already have ruled out quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for Sunday’s game against the Patriots. After the Week Eight bye, Roethlisberger possibly will miss even more time, due to an injury he suffered a year ago.
“Doc says my knee looked good, but there still was some stuff in there from when I had my bone bruise last season in St. Louis,” Roethlisberger told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He said that might keep me out a little longer than just a simple meniscus tear. Maybe an extra week or so. But there’s no way to put an exact timetable on it. It all depends on my pain and how I feel.”
Roethlisberger finished Sunday’s game against the Dolphins knowing that he had a torn meniscus.
“Doc told me at halftime he was pretty sure I had a meniscus tear and that I probably was going to have surgery on Monday,” Roethlisberger said. “He said it was up to me and my pain and that I wasn’t going to do any more damage to my knee.
“I went back in because I thought it still gave us a chance to win. Obviously, I wasn’t able to move as well, but my adrenaline was so high. I don’t think it really affected any of my throws. I just wish I had played better. It would have been a great story to come back and win.”
Roethlisberger deserves credit for playing through the injury. He also deserves credit for the performance of the offense in recent years, which have been some of the best of his career. But #narratives are hard to change, and plenty of people who made up their minds about Roethlisberger long ago won’t be inclined to adjust their thinking.
After the week off, the Steelers face the Ravens and then the Cowboys. Landry Jones will play quarterback in Roethlisberger’s absence.
