PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There have been times in the past where Ben Roethlisberger has said he wants to be out there with his guys and not want to sit out. This is not one of those times.
“I am excited to get a little bit of rest this week,” Roethlisberger said of not playing in Cleveland on Sunday.
Roethlisberger said Mike Tomlin told him right after the game against Indianapolis that he wouldn’t play. He’s also not worried about the time away affecting his sharpness.
“Having two weeks off makes your body feel good but you can get a little bit rusty,” Roethlisberger said. “Only having one week will be fine. I don’t foresee that being an issue. I think of anything I think it will be good to physically get myself recovered and back at it.”
Roethlisberger said he will mainly due what he did when he was hurt last year and help out where he can with preparation but try and stay out of their way.
“In terms of on the field work this week, I may do some stuff on Friday,” Roethlisberger said. “Obviously, very little because I can’t take reps away from Mason or Josh or Duck, whoever is taking the reps.”
“It might just be more during special teams (segment of practice) of grabbing some of the guys and going through stuff on another field or throwing a little bit. To me this is going to be a really good mental and physical rest couple of days.”
It’s not that he really feels he needs the rest or is as bad off physically as has been reported the last few weeks.
“I feel good,” Roethlisberger said. “I know there has been so many crazy reports from some of the national people out there about my knees and how I feel. But truly, that is just arthritis, that’s old age. My elbow, where I had surgery, feels really good. I’m excited to see, since we are a little over a year out of surgery, how is it going to keep feeling as we move forward. I don’t feel like there’s been any letdown in terms of how it feels.”
Roethlisberger said he will let the coaches decide who else rests, adding the bottom line for him about playing in Cleveland Sunday.
“We want to win this game, but we need to make sure we get out healthy.”
