Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is now throwing without pain just six months after he underwent elbow surgery on his throwing arm, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Roethlisberger, 38, is confident that he will be able to come back and play well for the Steelers in the 2020 season.
“I’m throwing without pain for the first time in years,” Roethlisberger said during the interview. “Some games, I would have a little pain. Some games, I would have a lot of pain. But in the New England game and the Seattle game [last season], it got to be too much. To be able to throw without pain now? That feels nice. That’s a nice feeling. I know I’m not getting any younger, but I feel younger because I don’t have any pain.”
Roethlisberger got the go ahead to start throwing a football last month, and says that he has been throwing twice a week, 40 times per day, for about 20 yards.
“I had thrown a Nerf ball a little bit before that to my kids in the living room and my arm felt pretty good,” Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette. “I knew it was going to OK.
“But still, it felt so neat to throw a football. It had been a long time. I guess it was like riding a bike a little bit. You get back on and go. It’s not like it had been a year. It has been months. I never throw much in the offseason, anyway, so I looked at the time I had off like it was my offseason.”
Roethlisberger plans to take things to the next level next week by throwing three times a week.
“I’ll gradually ramp up the number of days and the throws and the distance and the velocity,” Roethlisberger stated.
“I really feel like I could let it rip right now if I had to, but what’s the point? There’s no need for me to rush it. Our goal was for me to be 80%, 90%, 100% by OTAs and minicamp. Now that it looks like those things are going to be canceled [because of the coronavirus pandemic], I can take my time a little more.”
Roethlisberger also addressed the criticism that he had gained weight since the surgery.
“I’ve heard people say I’m fat, and that just blows my mind,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m lighter and in better shape than I was in either of the past two years. I haven’t stopped working out. I normally don’t work out in the offseason, but I’ve been doing everything five days a week with my trainer. Cardio twice a week. Legs twice a week. Upper body twice a week. …
“I guess it’s my beard that makes me look heavier. I must have 5 pounds in that, I know. But I’m not overweight.”