The Steelers are unveiling a new offense under coordinator Matt Canada. So wouldn't it make sense for their franchise quarterback to get some practice running it in an actual game?
One would think, but apparently that won't be in the cards this week. The Steelers will bench Ben Roethlisberger for their second preseason contest Tuesday, reports Chris Adamski of TribLive.
It is the wrong move.
One of the prevailing storylines of minicamp was how Roethlisberger and Canada would co-exist. While Canada said Big Ben will control the offense, he also referenced the "changes in terminology" and "adjustments" Roethlisberger is making.
Fast-forward to the Hall of Fame Game last week, where we saw the soft launch of Canada's new scheme. It included a lot of pre-snap motion, which contributed to Mason Rudolph's bungled hand-off.
Rudolph will get another chance to master the offense Thursday, as the third-year backup is expected to start. That means Rudolph will be with Pittsburgh's better skill position players, while Dwayne Haskins, who has a higher ceiling, will once again be stuck with second- and third-stringers.
Mike Tomlin said Tuesday the Steelers will follow the same plan as last week. "It will be very similar to last week for who you would consider front-line guys," he told reporters. "You shouldn't expect [an] increase in the amount of participation for those guys. We're comfortable with what they were able to do last week and gain some in-game experience and exposure and communicate and so forth."
The choice to start Rudolph is baffling, considering Pittsburgh's season hinges on how well Roethlisberger will pick up Canada's scheme, never mind play behind a remade offensive line.
Also, it would be nice to see if Roethlisberger and Najee Harris can develop some in-game chemistry. The Alabama standout is projected to play a big role in the Steelers offense this season.
While Roethlisberger will almost certainly start during the third preseason game, which is often considered a dry run for Week 1, he'll probably once again be on the bench for the fourth affair — like nearly every starter around the league. That means he'll likely only get two quarters this month with his fellow 1's.
Now, I understand Roethlisberger is practicing with his teammates every day, and taking then field during the preseason comes with some injury risk. But in this case, the value of Roethlisberger gaining more experience with Canada's offense outweighs the risk. He doesn't even have to play for a whole quarter.
Just a couple of series would suffice.
Two years ago, Roethlisberger spoke about the value of playing in the preseason.
"There is, I think, some value because every game counts in the NFL," he said in 2019, via ProFootballTalk. "In all the other major sports, you can get away with losing some games and you can kinda warm up to it because the season's so long. In our season, you can't really afford to do that so to get out there and get the game speed stuff is beneficial."
There you have it: Roethlisberger himself believes it's important to amass some preseason playing time.
The Steelers, apparently, disagree. Hopefully it doesn't come back to hurt them.
