Ben Roethlisberger vows to 'come back stronger' for Steelers in 2020
Ben Roethlisberger gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans a Christmas gift on Wednesday when he vowed to resume his football career in 2020, shooting down a report that cast doubt about his football future.
Underneath a family photo posted on his website, bigben7.com, Roethlisberger wrote that he is “working hard and more determined than ever to come back stronger and better than ever” for the 2020 season.
Roethlisberger remains on injured reserve after undergoing surgery on his right elbow in September. He will not begin a throwing program until the offseason.
Roethlisberger addressed reports about his “uncertainty” of playing again. Although he didn’t cite a specific report, it most likely was one in which ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said Monday there was “some doubt” about Roethlisberger resuming his football career because of the elbow surgery.
Mortensen later walked back from that statement on his verified Twitter account, saying that the Steelers are “optimistic” Roethlisberger will recover from the surgery in which he had three tendons reattached.
Clarity to calm down the masses - the @Steelers are now optimistic Ben Roethlisberger will recover from elbow surgery to reattach three tendons. Not cleared to throw yet but he is tracking better and Ben himself wants and expects to play in 2020 and beyond, per sources.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) December 23, 2019
Roethlisberger, who turns 38 in March, is under contract with the Steelers for two more seasons.
In his absence, the Steelers have used Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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