Ben Roethlisberger's elbow injury will deprive the Pittsburgh Steelers of their starting quarterback for the entirety of 2019.

Said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler:

“He fully intends to come back from his injury, and everything we've heard, we're comfortable that's a strong possibility.”

Tomlin believes Roethlisberger will be back, and so does he.

Said Big Ben in a post-injury statement:

“I can only trust God’s plan, but I am completely determined to battle through this challenge and come back stronger than ever next season. The Steelers committed three years to me this offseason and I fully intend to honor my contract and reward them with championship level play. I will do all I can to support Mason and the team this season to help win games. I love this game, my teammates, the Steelers organization and fans, and I feel in my heart I have a lot left to give.”

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Nihad Zunic ·

Roethlisberger should be back. He thinks so, and so does his coach. But it won't be in 2019. Instead, second-year player Mason Rudolph will be the starter.

Pittsburgh selected Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. A former Oklahoma State Cowboy, he's lauded for his production in college, size (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) and a progressing game which emerged in the preseason. Before Roethlisberger's injury, Rudolph earned the tag as his heir apparent in Pittsburgh; now we'll get to see if that's true.