Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger banged his throwing hand against the arm of Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton during Sunday’s loss, and it was clear that, at least for a while, the hand was bothering Ben.
He shook it and flexed it and his index finger wobbled as he tried to make selections from the menu of plays on his left wrist. He handed off for the next five plays, initially using his left hand to deliver the ball to the tailback.
But it appears for now that the injury won’t affect Roethlisberger’s ability to play next Sunday at Cincinnati.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Roethlisberger was confident as of Sunday night that he’ll be fine. Also as of Sunday night, it was unclear whether the team would be ordering any testing of the hand.
“I am sure every quarterback has that happen every game,” Roethlisberger said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, of an injury that caused him to react in a way that few quarterbacks ever do during games. “Does it hurt? Yeah. Did it affect my throwing? No.”
Like other injuries, it could be that it gets worse after a night of sleep. And it could be that Roethlisberger ends up on the injury report this week. And it could be that it will be something to keep an eye on as the first of two showdowns with the Bengals approaches.