The Pittsburgh Steelers might be having franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back when they take on the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday for Week 8 action.
Roethlisberger has missed the last four games for the Steelers after suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a bruised bone in Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams.
Facing the reporters last Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin sounded confident regarding Roethlisberger's current health status.
"We don't have any reservations or limitations about his ability. As I sit here today, we're comfortable where he is in his overall ability. We're going to need him, obviously," Tomlin said, according to ESPN.
Roethlisberger already helped Pittsburgh win two Super Bowls (XL, XLIII) in his stint with the team. In three games played this season, he had 67 completions for 912 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Despite the positivity Tomlin is having, Roethlisberger does not want to get ahead of things especially after experiencing pain and inflammation in his injured knee last week.
"I don't think it was another injury. It was just putting an extra heavy load on it and paying for it that night just with achiness, inflammation, things like that," the 33-year-old said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Roethlisberger added that he was fine after knowing that the pain he felt was not another injury, but downplayed a possible return for him this coming Sunday against Cincinnati.
"That's why I've said this whole time we have to take it one day at a time. That's why I'm not getting my hopes up about Sunday. I'm going to get my hopes up for today and see how it goes today," Roethlisberger also stated.
The Steelers need their franchise quarterback against the Bengals and for the remainder of the season to improve their chances of making it to the playoffs.
If Roethlisberger would still not play, Pittsburgh will again rely on veteran Mike Vick and third-year quarterback Landry Jones who have been stepping up in their past four games.
