As the Steelers head into the offseason, they face a number of questions. None are bigger, however, than the status of Ben Roethlisberger.
He played just six quarters in 2019 before being shut down because of an elbow injury that required surgery. And the team still has no timeline on when their two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback might be ready to start throwing again.
"I know that he’s due for an update somewhere around the first of February, a checkup that will probably be significant in terms of mapping out what’s next," Mike Tomlin said Tuesday at his season-ending press conference at the Rooney Complex. "But that’s a moving target, that date."
Without Roethlisberger most of the season, the Steelers went 8-8, recovering from a 1-4 start to get to 8-5 before their inadequacies at the position led to three consecutive losses to close out the season. The Steelers scored 10 points in each of their final three games, with third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges making each of those starts.
Getting Roethlisberger back healthy would certainly be a boost to an offense that finished 30th in total yards, 31st in passing yards and 27th in scoring. But the Steelers might not know for some time when Roethlisberger will be able to resume throwing, though they could gain some amount of clarity after that February checkup.
"We’ve been taking it one step at a time," Tomlin said. "We’ll get that information, probably around that time."
With Roethlisberger out, the Steelers initially went to 2018 third-round draft pick Mason Rudolph as his replacement. Rudolph went 5-3 in his eight starts but was replaced by Hodges after back-to-back ineffective starts in mid-November against the Browns and Bengals.
Rudolph replaced Hodges in the second quarter of the team's Dec. 22 loss at New York against the Jets and led the Steelers back from a 10-0 deficit to a 10-10 tie at the half. But he suffered a serious injury to his left shoulder in the third quarter and missed the team's regular season finale last Sunday against the Ravens.
Rudolph finished the season completing 62.2 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and Tomlin said Rudolph is the team's No. 2 quarterback.
"I’m comfortable with Mason Rudolph," Tomlin said. "I’m disappointed with him missing the amount of time that he did. I understand injuries are part of the game. He had an opportunity to grow in a lot of ways and gain a lot of experience. He missed some time due to injuries and performance. But I am comfortable with Mason Rudolph."
Tomlin did not, however, shoot down the possibility of signing a veteran backup, as well, though he said he's not sure who might be available at this point.
"I’m just not ready to weigh those options," Tomlin said. "We’re open and willing to weigh all options that give us (the opportunity) to put the strongest football team on the field."
The strongest team would be one with a healthy Roethlisberger behind center.
He'll turn 38 by the time the 2020 season kicks off, but there's no denying what he means to this team. He has the ability to check the team into and out of good and bad plays. He handles offensive line blocking adjustments. And he keeps opposing defenses honest. Not having him available also affected how opposing offenses played against the Steelers, especially down the stretch.
With Hodges at quarterback, opposing offenses took fewer chances, knowing the Steelers weren't going to score a lot of points.
"You go into it ready to peel back all the layers in every aspect of play," Tomlin said in regard to evaluating things without Roethlisberger. "Yes, some of it relates to Ben and his presence and you understand what his presence means. But largely, you’re just analyzing. We’ve got areas to improve in across the board."
