Ben Roethlisberger Injury Update: Steelers Quarterback Could Be Out Several Weeks — And Potentially Much More

Ben Roethlisberger was forced out of the second half of his team’s Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Now, the team might be losing him for much longer.

Roethlisberger was hurt in the first half of his team’s 28-26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. It appeared to be a non-contact injury, as Roethlisberger grabbed his elbow after missing on a deep ball throw down the right sideline. The Steelers quarterback stayed in the game for the rest of the first half, but remained on the sidelines for the second half as backup Mason Rudolph saw his first NFL action.

As former NFL doctor David J. Chao noted in his analysis of the injury on his site, ProFootballDoc, there was no specific play where the injury took place, but his concern is that the Steelers quarterback may have suffered an ulnar collateral ligament injury. Chao noted that Ben had been dealing with an elbow injury during practice this week, and said his current injury looks like it could be similar to what Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen suffered last year, which forced him to miss three games.

But Chao noted that if the the UCL is torn, it could mean Ben has to undergo Tommy John surgery, which is more common for baseball pitchers and an incredible rarity for quarterbacks. That would mean instead of a multi-week injury, it could mean the rest of this season and potentially next season as well. Chao pegged this as the worst case scenario, with no indication yet that this could be what Roethlisberger had suffered.

Chao, the former team doctor for Los Angeles Chargers, who at the time were still playing in San Diego, has made a career out of analyzing game video to diagnose game injuries. He correctly pegged Allen’s injury last season from watching film of the injury.

The Steelers rallied behind Rudolph on Sunday, who completed 12 of his 19 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns and an interception as the team fell to the Seahawks. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had some praise for the poise that Rudolph showed in his debut.

“I like some of the things he displayed,” Tomlin said of the team’s backup quarterback. “His communication, his grit. But we gotta find a way to win a football game. We weren’t able to do that today.”

As The Inquisitr noted, Roethlisberger was one of two franchise quarterbacks to go down on Sunday, as Saints signal caller Drew Brees also left his team’s game with an injury.

Here's a video of the Ben Roethlisberger injury.pic.twitter.com/PsP1Z1Rhxy

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 15, 2019

As CBS Sports reported, Ben Roethlisberger is set to receive an MRI for his elbow.