Steelers offer rave reviews of Ben Roethlisberger: ‘He’s all the way back'
Three weeks into team workouts and two days into padded, training camp-style practices, Ben Roethlisberger earned plaudits from teammates in his first official on-field work since undergoing elbow surgery last September.
“I’m loving what I’m seeing from him,” tight end Vance McDonald said during a video conference call with media Tuesday.
“He can put the ball anywhere,” receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said the day prior.
According to the official pool practice reports from Heinz Field, Roethlisberger was a heavy participant in practices Monday and Tuesday. There are reports of several connections of passes he’s made with a myriad of receivers. Tuesday, there was “a pretty TD pass” to Ryan Switzer, a back-shoulder fade to Chase Claypool, and a display of “rapport” with Smith-Schuster, the fourth-year receiver with whom he connected “multiple times in live team periods.”
Monday, the most noted Roethlisberger pass was one along the sideline to McDonald.
“I would say he’s all the way back, for sure,” McDonald said.
McDonald’s opinion was formed, in part, during informal workouts involving Roethlisberger and his receiving corps earlier this summer.
“He was making some insane throws, like off of his back foot, cross-field to Diontae (Johnson), just like running throughout the end zone to the back pylon,” McDonald said. “I just remember in that moment thinking, ‘Golly, he’s really back. This is crazy and awesome to see.’ ”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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