2019 hasn’t gotten off to a kind start for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After being humiliated in a loss to New England in Week 1, the Steelers got doubly bad news on Sunday after losing to the Seahawks, and, more importantly, losing starting quarterback Ben Roethlsiberger for the rest of the 2019 season.
The veteran starting quarterback was injured in the first half of Sunday’s game and was ultimately unable to play in the second half, being replaced by backup quarterback Mason Rudolph. Roethlisberger clutched his right elbow after throwing a couple of passes in the half before the team decided to not let him play in the second half.
The team performed tests on Roethlisberger’s elbow on Monday and found that their quarterback suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. The Steelers informed Roethlisberger that the injury can only be treated with surgery, which will cause him to miss the rest of this season.
The injury is brutal for the Steelers, who have relied on the 37-year-old as their first-string quarterback for the better part of the past two decades.
Rudolph, a second-year player out of Oklahoma State with minimal NFL experience, will take over as Roethlisberger’s replacement for the rest of the season and look to surprise as he tries to turn around the team after their slow start to the year.
