When the Pittsburgh Steelers open organized team activities today, Ben Roethlisberger won’t participate.
A week ago we noted that the league was awaiting a thorough evaluation of Roethlisberger as part of the mandatory treatment he needs to undergo before he’s allowed back on the field. That’s still the case, and so Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch will be the Steelers’ quarterbacks at today’s OTAs.
Leftwich was working with the first-string offense at the Steelers’ most recent minicamp, but Dixon and Batch will also get a chance to compete for the starting job while Roethlisberger serves his suspension at the start of the season.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t said when he will allow Roethlisberger to start working with the team again, but Roethlisberger is expected to be cleared in time for training camp and the preseason, when the Steelers’ offense will have a difficult balancing act of preparing for a season in which their starting quarterback will be absent for the first month.