The Pittsburgh Steelers are more than excited to get Ben Roethlisberger back under center for the 2020 season. However, there was once a moment where there was a legitimate concern of him not playing football again. In the first part of his ‘Bigger than Ben' documentary, Roethlisberger revealed just how severe his elbow injury was last year.

During the video, Roethlisberger exclaimed that Dr. James Bradley said that he had two options for his elbow — one of which would have led to him not playing in the NFL.

“We can do absolutely nothing to the elbow, and you will be just fine — but you can never play football again in the NFL,” Roethlisberger said in the documentary. “But if you want to play, you’re going to have to have surgery.”

In Pittsburgh's Week 2 bout with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, Roethlisberger sustained a non-contact elbow injury. Given the options he had, Roethlisberger elected to undergo season-ending surgery.

As a result, he gave himself a chance to bounce back with the Steelers in 2020. If he chose not to go through with the surgery, Bradley reiterated that the veteran signal-caller wouldn't be able to throw again.

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“You can’t throw a football like that; you just can’t,” Bradley said, relaying his message to Roethlisberger, “and you’ll ruin your elbow if you do.”

Due to Roethlisberger's absence last season, the Steelers fell short of making the postseason for the second consecutive season. While he makes his awaited return this season, fans are going to get a glimpse of what Roethlisberger had to endure for him to have an opportunity to return to the field.