Steelers think Ben Roethlisberger will be ‘even better’ than before his injury

NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala recently shared that the Pittsburgh Steelers expect Ben Roethlisberger to be better than ever in 2020.

At 38-years-old, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t exactly in the prime of his career. There’s a good chance that his current contract with the Steelers could end up being his last.

Despite his age and the fact that he missed all but two games in 2019 due to an elbow injury, Pittsburgh isn’t worried about their longtime starting quarterback for next season. From the sounds of it, the Steelers appear to actually be quite optimistic about Roethlisberger for 2020.

NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala recently shared some information related to Pittsburgh’s current feelings about the veteran signal-caller and what they’re expecting from him during the upcoming season.

"“(Pittsburgh) expects Ben Roethlisberger to be even better than he was before he left. Perhaps better than he’s been the last few years just because (they) expect the year off to have made him healthier and that the year away perhaps gave him a little more perspective.”"

Obviously, everyone hopes this to be the case. The last two seasons have been disappointing for the Steelers with no playoffs and they would like to put an end to this drought in 2020.

Back in 2018, Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards and he finished the season with 34 touchdown passes. This wasn’t that long ago.

Not including 2019, Roethlisberger has also only ended one year with fewer than 28 touchdown passes since 2013. There haven’t been too many signs of his play trending in the wrong direction during the last few seasons, which is probably why Pittsburgh is so optimistic about his return in 2020.

While it’s good to be confident about your starting quarterback coming back and playing better than he has during the last few years, it’s also wise to have a backup plan just in case things don’t work out.

Right now, the Steelers are sticking with Mason Rudolph as their No. 2 option behind Roethlisberger. Some might not be pleased about this, but Pittsburgh doesn’t seem too worried about it because they’re just not planning on needing Rudolph to play next season.