Ben Roethlisberger Says His Arm is ‘Fresher’ after More-Normal Offseason

PITTSBURGH — Like most people, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not enjoy the first half of 2020.


While the world was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Roethlisberger was dealing with the extensive rehabilitation process from his 2019 surgery.

That process was a world away from Roethlisberger’s usual offseason plan of resting his arm, and it meant he went straight from that rehab into the 2020 season without a break.

This year, he’s had a completely normal offseason of rest and recovery, and he said his arm feels better than it did this time a year ago.

“My arm feels a lot fresher, if you will,” Roethlisberger said after the first practice of training camp on Thursday. “Just because this time last year, I had thrown thousands of footballs trying to get ready for this. This year, today was the first day I’ve thrown a ball since minicamp, except throwing to my son in the backyard. So it just feels more normal of an offseason if you will. So my arm feels really, really good.”


The 39-year-old threw 608 times for 3,803 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2020, so if a fresher arm in July leads to better results throughout the season, Roethlisberger could be in for a late-career surge.