Pittsburgh Steelers fans are completely used to hearing about some sort of Ben Roethlisberger ailment.
He plays hurt all the time and it was no surprise to hear the same was true early in 2021.
The veteran signal-caller is currently nursing a pectoral injury and made it clear he felt pain just doing his job.
Was he being dramatic?
That would be easy for a fan to say, but playing in the NFL means a lot of injuries and ailments so there is no reason not to believe the quarterback.
His status was in question for a bit, but news Friday revealed he is planning to play in Week 3.
Steelers rule out WR Diontae Johnson and OLB Alex Highsmith, list TJ Watt as questionable. No injury status for Ben Roethlisberger. He’s good to go.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 24, 2021
Not having any injury status means he should be fully good to go.
A Sigh Of Relief
The Steelers offense needs Roethlisberger on the field to succeed at this point in time.
So far this year the group has had mixed results in two games.
The lack of a running game has been apparent even though the team hyped the arrival of first-round pick Najee Harris.
He had 16 carries for 45 yards in Week 1 in the victory over the Buffalo Bills, followed by 10 carries for 38 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
That is not exactly the production the team was hoping for so early on.
Meanwhile, Roethlisberger only had 188 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
A special teams touchdown ultimately helped carry Pittsburgh over Buffalo.
He was better in Week 2 with 295 yards, but he did toss an interception in addition to a touchdown.
The point is that the offense is already struggling immensely, so it would be a lot to rely upon Dwayne Haskins or Mason Rudolph at this time.
Other Injury Notes
The status of T.J. Watt is another major one Steelers fans are keeping an eye on.
For now, he has a shot to play.
#Steelers injury report officially out for Sunday’s AFC North tilt vs the #Bengals. Devin Bush and Joe Haden look good to go, TJ Watt’s “door is open” (as he said) and fellow pass rusher Alex Highsmith is OUT. pic.twitter.com/gSNsRYxbOl
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 24, 2021
The defender who just received a record deal suffered a groin injury not too long after signing.
Like with Roethlisberger, this may be an issue of pain tolerance over anything else if they are both planning to give it a go.
Diontae Johnson, however, is out for the game, robbing the offense of a key contributor.
Injuries are a part of the game, but the Steelers are going to face a tough test if they begin to stack up so early in the year.
Roethlisberger and Watt being good to go at least means the stars are on the field.
NEXT: Steelers Offense Already Facing Major Problems