Two of the NFL’s highest-profile quarterbacks will miss significant playing time. The Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed that Ben Roethlisberger is out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, while the New Orleans Saints are expected to be without their quarterback, Drew Brees, for six weeks.
Roethlisberger will undergo surgery on his right elbow and be placed on injured reserve, ending the 37-year-old’s 16th season just two weeks in. Roethlisberger injured the arm late in the second quarter of Sunday’s 28-26 loss to Seattle. He did not play in the second half, watching from the sideline as backup Mason Rudolph took over.
Roethlisberger, who led the NFL in passing last season, signed an extension in March that runs through the 2021 season. There was no immediate timetable on his possible return. Pittsburgh, who have lost both their games this season, will now move on with Rudolph, taken in the third round of the 2018 draft. Rudolph went 12 of 19 for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against Seattle in the first regular-season snaps of his career.
Meanwhile, Brees is believed to have torn a ligament in his throwing hand during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It is understood that, like Roethlisberger, he will go undergo surgery in the coming days.
Brees has missed only one full game because of an injury in his previous 13 seasons with New Orleans. The Saints narrowly lost that game, with Luke McCown at quarterback, at Carolina during the 2015 season.
Brees is the NFL’s all-time leader in completions with 6,621 and yards passing with 74,845. His 522 touchdowns tie him for second all-time with New England’s Tom Brady, 17 behind retired former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
The Saints are practicing this week in the Seattle area before playing the Seahawks on Sunday. New Orleans’ five games after they play Seattle are against Dallas, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Chicago and Arizona, followed by a Week 9 bye.
Teddy Bridgewater, who returned this season on a one-year, free-agent deal, is the primary backup. Taysom Hill, who plays a variety of skill positions on offense and also plays on special teams, is the third string QB. It remains to be seen how his playing time at various positions will be affected if he is elevated to second-string QB while Brees is out.
At 1-1, the Saints are tied for first place in the NFC South. They entered the season with high expectations after advancing to the NFC title game last season, losing to the Rams in a game marred by officials’ non-call of pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact fouls committed by a Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman against then Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis.