Pittsburgh Steelers longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed a majority of the season last season due to a right elbow injury.

During a recent appearance on The Sirius XM Blitz Thursday with Bruce Murray, Roethlisberger explained what it was like being stuck on the sideline.

“It was tough on the sidelines last year. All of us are competitors, right? We all want to be out there. It’s what we love to do. As a quarterback, you feel like, ‘That’s my team out there and I want to be out there leading my guys. I want to help them and do everything I can, to go through the battle with them.’ And when you can’t do that, it’s so hard and it just tugs at you.”

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Roethlisberger also explained that the injury has motivated him to become a better player for this upcoming season.

“It put a little fire into me — this is not the end for me. This is not how I’m going out. I’m going to bust my butt to just give myself a chance to come back and try to be better than ever. I know that sounds kinda crazy; as you get older in life to get better. Your physical attributes might fall off, you might not be as fast or as big or whatever. But you still can be as sharp because you can be mentally sharp and maybe hone your skills differently.”

The Steelers front office has done a phenomenal job of revamping their roster this offseason. If Roethlisberger can perform like he once did in his previous years, then the Steelers will most certainly have a successful season.