Week 2 of the NFL season saw a lot of injuries to star players like Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback will be sidelined at least six weeks after tearing a ligament in his thumb Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller, on the other hand, wasn’t so fortunate.
Roethlisberger left in the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks after injuring his elbow on what looked to be a routine pass. The QB immediately grabbed his arm and did not return. And after undergoing an MRI on Monday, it was deemed Roethlisberger needed surgery and would miss the remainder of the year.
The 16-year veteran turned 37 in March, so many began to question whether this was the end of the road for Roethlisberger. But he released a statement Monday, saying he still has “a lot left to give.”
“I’ve been informed that I need season ending surgery on my elbow to continue playing football at the level I expect,” the statement read, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “This is shocking and heartbreaking for me, to miss this much of a season and feel like I am letting down so many people. I can only trust God’s plan, but I am completely determined to battle through this challenge and come back stronger than ever next season. The Steelers committed three years to me this offseason and I fully intend to honor my contract and reward them with championship level play. I will do all I can to support Mason and the team this season to help win games. I love this game, my teammates, the Steelers organization and fans, and I feel in my heart I have a lot left to give.”
Well, that certainly debunked any retirement talk.
The Steelers now turn to Mason Rudolph as their starting quarterback for the next (at least) 14 weeks.
