Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t practiced at all this week, but the team is not concerned about the effectiveness of the offense on Sunday against the Bengals.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said today that the Steelers are expecting to be able to activate Roethlisberger from the reserve/COVID-19 list, and that after getting Roethlisberger up to speed with an extended walk-through practice on Saturday, the offense should be ready to go without any limitations.
Asked if the week off practice was useful for Roethlisberger because he was nursing knee injuries, Tomlin said those injuries wouldn’t have been a problem.
“His knees weren’t an issue at all,” Tomlin said.
It’s not exactly ideal for a starting quarterback to miss a week of practice, but the reality of this NFL season is that every team is dealing with problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and teams have managed to play well despite having their practice schedules interrupted. The Steelers expect that they’ll play well on Sunday.