Mike Tomlin: Steelers ‘extremely confident’ Ben Roethlisberger will be ready for season

Another public comment from a prominent member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, another highly optimistic outlook for the health of Ben Roethlisberger.

During a 3 ½-minute spot on the NFL Network during its 2020 schedule-release show Thursday night, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked about Roethlisberger’s projected availability for the Steelers’ scheduled opener Sept. 14 at the New York Giants.

Roethlisberger was limited to 2½ games last season until an elbow injury that required September surgery on his throwing arm.

“As we sit here today, we are extremely confident in his readiness,” Tomlin said. “We are enjoying the process that he’s going through right now. Obviously, it’s not without its angst. The guy is coming off a season-ending injury and surgery. But we like where we are. He’s throwing on a rehab schedule, and it’s going well, and we fully anticipate him being ready to go for that opener.”

"I hadn't seen a schedule I didn't like." ?

Mike Tomlin can't wait to take the field in 2020 with the @steelers ?

?: 2020 NFL Schedule Release live now on NFL Network
?: https://t.co/5FJW2HddbF pic.twitter.com/J6xl5m8msO

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 8, 2020

Repeatedly since the end of last season, Tomlin, general manager Kevin Colbert and even president Art Rooney II have expressed satisfaction with the Roethlisberger’s progress.

Typically at this point of the offseason, Roethlisberger would be working out and throwing at the team’s UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, though, has left the team banned from its own facility and players working out on their own. That has only added to the intrigue and mystery surrounding the progress of Roethlisberger’s rehab.

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