Former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw and Roethlisberger have more in common than position, team, and Super Bowl rings. In 1983, Bradshaw underwent surgery for torn muscles and tendons in his throwing elbow. Roethlisberger’s elbow operation involved reattaching three flexor tendons.
“They tied the muscle together,” Bradshaw said of his surgery. “I took the whole summer off. I came back, and I just couldn’t play.”
So, when Bradshaw offers his advice on Roethlisberger and his elbow, it’s from experience.
“[Roethlisberger] had the surgery, which was good,” said Bradshaw in a recent interview with The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette. “Getting good doctor care, good instructions, good rehab. It’s going to be up to Ben listening to the doctors and what they say. And the doctors not lying to him, and Ben not lying: ‘I feel great.’ Well, maybe you don’t feel great. It takes a while.
According to Bradshaw, coach Chuck Noll urged him to return to game action too early, which ultimately caused permanent elbow damage and led to a necessary but unwanted retirement.
There have been significant advancements in medical procedures and rehabilitation since 1983. And coach Mike Tomlin placed Roethlisberger on IR instead of rushing his QB back.
“I got the surgery, and nobody told me, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’” said Bradshaw. “Today, I would have had a strength coach; I would have had a passing coach, I would have had someone working with me how to do it. I was on my own, all by myself.”
“Today I would have had the Tommy John,” he continued. “I would have been out a year, and I would have come back at 36 and ready to go. That truly is something I regret.”
Bradshaw said the mentality Roethlisberger possesses is a vital aspect to consider, as well. “Yeah, in the back of his mind, he’s 38 now. He has to say to himself, ‘OK, take care of this thing.’ Don’t come back until your 100 percent strong, and you can make all the throws, and there is no pain.”
Roethlisberger’s surgeon gave him the green light to resume throwing activities on Feb. 21. He’s been throwing the ball about 40 times a day for 20 yards at most and plans to gradually increase the number of days, throws, distance, and velocity.
The QB has been throwing without pain for the first time in years and hopes to be close to 100 percent by organized team activities and minicamp. Clubs with returning head coaches initially were allowed to begin offseason programs on April 20. Now that OTAs have been delayed indefinitely, Roethlisberger has more time to rehab.
The season before his injury, Roethlisberger, then 36, led the league in passing with 5,129 yards and scored 34 touchdowns.
Roethlisberger personally has no doubts that he come back and play well this season. While there’s no telling how capable the QB will be until games get underway, his confidence is encouraging.
Throughout his 16-year career suffered 19 documented injuries, so it’s no doubt he’d played through pain on many occasions. In Dec. 2018, he suffered cracked ribs late in the first quarter and returned in the third quarter. He wore a protective flack jacket for the remainder of the season.
Roethlisberger has never missed more than four games during a season and, when faced with injuries, seems to prefer playing rather than not. Before 2019, the last time he missed more than one game due to injury was in 2015 with an MCL sprain.
So, Roethlisberger’s return to game action is not about pain tolerance; he’s resilient. Instead, it’s about efficiency, which will require a wait-and-see approach.
Bradshaw is optimistic. “Let me say this: Under proper supervision, I would expect him to come back strong.”
Strong is Roethlisberger’s middle name. At 6-5 and 240 lbs., it often takes multiple defenders to take him to the ground. Despite his strength and build, however, he has been brought down – a lot. Roethlisberger is the most sacked among active QBs (503 sacks in 18 games).