There’s a rumor that Ben Roethlisberger might not be able to return from his elbow injury.
Of course with all the problems the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently having at the quarterback position, the old rumor mill has to fire up. The Steelers are currently dealing with a veritable nightmare at the quarterback position but could be facing even bigger issues if the rumors are to be believed.
ESPN NFL insider Chris Mortensen via Bleacher Report, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has some doubt if he will return to football at all. Let that one sink in a minute.
Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury halfway through the team’s second game of the season. Since his injury, there have been very few updates on his recovery or prognosis but we all wanted to believe no news was good news.
If Roethlisberger is unable to play again, this puts the Steelers in an awkward position this upcoming offseason. The Steelers have had a full season to evaluate Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph before deciding if either guy is the answer or should they seek out a player in free agency.
Adam Gase spoke highly of how the Steelers have had success with a backup quarterback and praised Devlin Hodges.
Jets head coach Adam Gase has taken notice of the Steelers’ success with a backup quarterback this season.
The Steelers lost starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the season to an elbow injury in the second game of the regular season. Pittsburgh has since turned to backup quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges and still find themselves in contention for a wild card spot. Gase is well aware of how tough it is to win games with backup quarterbacks and he praised the Steelers for their success.
“That’s a great job,” Gase said. “It’s not an easy thing to do. They found a way to be able to handle that bump in the road and find a way to win. Every game they’ve been in pretty much has been one-score games whether they win or lose. They’re keeping it close…. For the most part they’ve been so consistent.”
It looked as if the Steelers’ season was over when they lost Roethlisberger for the season. But Rudolph stepped in really well and brought the Steelers back to relevancy. However, he started to struggle in Week 11 against the Browns where he threw four interceptions in a loss. Pittsburgh gave him one last start the following week against the Bengals, but was pulled for Hodges.
As for Hodges, he has three wins under his belt as a starting quarterback. Hodges is not the type of quarterback who lights up the stat sheet, but he’s kept opposing defenses on their toes.
“He’s done a good job of what they’ve asked him to do,” Gase said of Hodges. “They’re asking him to manage the game. They’re taking shots down the field. They might not hit them all, but they’re keeping the defense honest and they’re running the football. He’s done a good job of not turning it over. I know last game was a little different. That’s why they have him in there. He’s doing what they ask him to do.”
Considering the way he played against the Bills, Hodges might be on a short leash in Week 16. If he does have trouble against the Jets on Sunday, don’t be surprised to see Pittsburgh turn to a backup quarterback once again.
If you watched Drew Brees’ record-breaking performance on Monday Night Football – and, realistically, even if you didn’t – you know who the NFL’s top two (well, probably top three) quarterbacks are when it comes to all-time touchdown passes. But can …
If you watched Drew Brees’ record-breaking performance on Monday Night Football — and, realistically, even if you didn’t — you know who the NFL’s top two (well, probably top three) quarterbacks are when it comes to all-time touchdown passes.
But can you correctly name QBs No. 4 through No. 10?
Find out.
(Stats, as of Monday, Dec. 18, 2019, courtesy of Pro Football Reference)
Wednesday was a rough day for former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Someone let him have access to his Twitter account and he took to social media to go on a full-blown tirade taking shots at everyone who he feels like has wronged him including the NFL. But he didn’t leave out his former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who he called a loser and said to check the stats before Brown came along.
So we did.
Roethlisberger came into the league in 2004 and played six seasons before the Steelers drafted Brown. During that stretch, Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls, was 8-2 in the playoffs and completed 69.8 percent of his passing attempts.
From 2010 on until the Steelers dealt Brown to the Raiders, Roethlisberger won zero Super Bowls, was 5-6 in the playoffs and completed 65.7 percent of his passes.
So yeah, so maybe Roethlisberger did ok before Brown came along.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
The Seattle Seahawks are no stranger to the injury bug. They’re still finding ways to win despite having one of the highest injury totals.
Injuries, like in any sport, are a part of the game of football. Some injuries can derail seasons and others can, unfortunately, end careers. The Seattle Seahawks are no stranger to the injury bug, but they aren’t letting it impact them this year.
Heading into their bye week, the Seahawks are tied with the Texans, Jaguars, and Broncos with 13 players on the injured reserve. That is good for the second total, behind only the Falcons. Of that group, Seattle surpasses only the Falcons in terms of money on the IR.
This time of year health can be as big of a factor as anything in post season success
The @Vikings have the fewest players and $ on IR with incredible luck avoiding injuries
The teams at the top of the list, at least financially, lost their starting quarterbacks. The Seahawks find themselves near the top in both categories because of the sheer quantity of players on the IR – although they have been fortunate that the impact felt by many of those losses has been minimal. As such, the team’s record is 8-2, and they just dethroned the last undefeated team in the league.
One of the biggest contributors to Seattle’s cap money tied to the IR is tight end Ed Dickson, who is expected to be activated soon. His return will be a big help on the field, which only adds to the potential of this team down the stretch.
Even though the Seahawks haven’t lost a player like Ben Roethlisberger or Cam Newton, they are still stinging from the losses of starting center Justin Britt and tight end Will Dissly.
Hopefully, the “big money” injury (a la Russell Wilson or Tyler Lockett) isn’t on the horizon and the team can continue to heal.
On the other end of the bye week, the Seahawks will be taking on the Eagles, likely with the help of Dickson.
A healthy Dickson not only lowers the amount of money tied up on the injured reserve, but it also gives Seattle more depth at a key area of need for the rest of the season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win their fourth straight game.
It was ugly but the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to pull off their fourth straight win with a 17-12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The game was hard to watch with the two teams combining for 24 penalties, six turnovers and displaying poor offenses. That being said, here are my gut reactions.
I mentioned the high amount of penalties already, but the offense was absolutely horrid. I’m going to come out and say it. People that are saying Mason Rudolph’s development is similar to Ben Roethlisberger his rookie season are wrong. Rudolph was essentially given the whole 2019 season to prove to the fans, coaches, ownership and his peers that he was the Steelers quarterback of the future, and if anything, there are more questions now about his future than in Week 2. When Roethlisberger was a rookie, he entered his first game in Week 2 at the Ravens and including the playoffs, the Steelers rattled off 15 straight wins on their way to losing the AFC championship game.
Looking back at that season, Roethlisberger was more limited in his pass attempts. Rudolph had 38 attempts Sunday and seems to be limited in effectiveness and productivity. Roethlisberger was assisted by an effective running game, something Rudolph has not been lucky enough to experience. The Steelers averaged 1.6 yards per rush, and the team’s longest run was 8 yards. Rudolph and Roethlisberger are alike in that both have been bolstered by dominate defenses while they attempt to get their footing as an NFL quarterback. Their on-field performances far from parallel one another.
Now that I’ve lashed out at Rudolph’s poor performance, I have to say there’s plenty of blame to go around. The Steelers as a team have not been consistent receivers for Rudolph. Drops are too common. He doesn’t have a run game to set him up in third-and-short situations on a regular basis and just to top things off, if the Steelers manage to move the ball, they usually end up off-setting their production with offensive penalties.
No running game, no receivers, and too many penalties are not the ideal situation for a young quarterback to flourish in. It’s a frustrating situation, which is only emphasized every week because of the defense’s stellar play. When Minkah Fitzpatrick is the Steelers’ best offensive weapon and he’s on defense, changes need to be made.
As bad as the offense has been, the defense continues to impress. They won the turnover battle for the eighth straight game and limited an inconsistent Rams offense to three points. Week 10 was so difficult to pallet, partially because the Steelers offense let the Rams score nine points while the defense held them to three. The defense consistently made big plays, tallying four sacks, four takeaways, three fumbles by the opposing quarterback and a defensive touchdown.
Fitzpatrick has been clutch and showcased rare awareness and ball skills. T.J. Watt entered the game as the highest-graded edge rusher in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, one point above the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack. Watt tallied five tackles and two sacks against the Rams. Steve Nelson has been a shutdown corner across from Joe Haden, helping shut out Cooper Kupp on Sunday.
Just to top it off, defensive captain Cameron Heyward entered the day as the third-highest graded interior defensive lineman at PFF and was extremely disruptive. He had three tackles, a sack, two passes defended, and three of the Steelers’ nine quarterback hits. Even that impressive stat line doesn’t sum up just how dominant he was at the point of attack. With the Steelers winning four in a row, the NFL has to wonder just how good this defense truly is.
The Steelers leave the friendly confines of Heinz Field on a short week to play the Cleveland Browns on national TV Thursday night. The Browns got their third win of the year in Week 10 at home against a surging Buffalo Bills team. But their offensive line has been extremely shaky, which has forced Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield force the ball downfield under pressure. Mayfield is second in the NFL with 12 interceptions thrown. Don’t look now, but the Steelers are vying for an AFC wild-card spot.
