Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have surgery on his right elbow and miss the remainder of the season.
Our NFL experts answer all of the lingering questions about what's next for the Steelers, including what to expect from new starter Mason Rudolph, fantasy spin for the rest of the team and what it all means for the 2019 season -- and beyond.
Can the Steelers still make the playoffs?
Jeremy Fowler, senior NFL writer: No. And that's not because of the quarterback situation. The Steelers blow assignments on defense, miss tackles, commit key penalties, average 3.9 yards per rush and struggle to sustain drives. This is hardly a Roethlisberger problem alone. This team just isn't playoff-caliber, at least not right now.
Kevin Seifert, senior NFL writer: Their season is over. They would likely need to win 10 of their remaining 14 games to get into the playoffs, and that's hard to do. Of the 268 teams to start 0-2 since 1990, only 30 have advanced to the postseason, per ESPN Stats & Information. I can't take those odds for a team that has demolished its previous identity, one led by Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, but given us no indication of what it might look like moving forward.
Is Roethlisberger a lock to start in Week 1 of 2020?
Fowler: A lock means no doubt, and there's at least a little doubt when it comes to elbow injuries. As much as the Steelers and Roethlisberger want and expect him to return to his gunslinging ways, what one source classifies as a "very serious" injury requires diligent rehab. Roethlisberger signed a three-year, $85 million extension in April, and his $8.5 million base salary in 2020 is guaranteed for injury only. Unless Roethlisberger wanted to retire after this year, the Steelers don't want it to end like this. Playing in 2020 helps give him a proper send-off whenever he does end his Hall of Fame career.
Mike Tannenbaum reports that the Steelers will now plan to use the 2019 season as a way to evaluate Mason Rudolph and the quarterback position.
What can we expect from Rudolph?
Todd McShay, NFL draft expert: I graded him as a fringe starter and a Day 2 pick (No. 62 on my board) in 2018, and he ended up going in the third round at 76th overall. But he has come a long way since he was directing that Oklahoma State spread offense two years ago, having spent time developing under Roethlisberger in the NFL.
Mel Kiper Jr., NFL draft expert: Yeah, Rudolph was my sixth-ranked quarterback in a class with five first-rounders, and he finished the year No. 43 overall on my Big Board. I was surprised when he dropped to Round 3. A couple weeks before that draft, there was some buzz that Rudolph could go in Round 1, and a few teams even told me that he was higher on their board than Lamar Jackson, who ended up going 32nd to the Ravens.
McShay: In college, he was an accurate short-to-intermediate passer with an NFL build who flashed above-average downfield touch. There were some concerns about his ability to drive the ball downfield and into tight pockets, but he showed the ability to get through his progressions with above-average anticipation.
Kiper: And don't forget that Rudolph gets to keep throwing to his favorite receiver. As a senior at Oklahoma State in 2017, Rudolph led FBS in passing yards (4,904), and James Washington, his teammate, led FBS in receiving yards (1,549). Now they get a chance to put up more yards in the NFL -- and try to get the Steelers out of this 0-2 hole.
Read more on what the Steelers' offense could look like with Rudolph under center from Jeremy Fowler.
Is there any chance the Steelers sign another QB, or are they set with Rudolph?
Fowler: The Steelers will most likely comb the market for veteran help. Landry Jones would be the ideal fit after spending five years with the franchise, but he's bound to his XFL contract. Devlin Hodges is on the practice squad and possibly not ready for a No. 2 call-up. That leaves the Steelers working through the clearance rack for the likes of Brock Osweiler and Cardale Jones. And there's always Colin Kaepernick, who has stayed ready behind the scenes.
What is the fantasy fallout for the rest of the Steelers?
Mike Clay, NFL fantasy writer: At this point, we don't know just how good Rudolph will be in the pros, but early indications are relatively positive. That said, everyone needs to be downgraded -- but we don't need to panic. JuJu Smith-Schuster remains a back-end WR1 option, and Vance McDonald -- who scored two touchdowns from the hand of Rudolph on Sunday -- appears to be back on track as a top-10 tight end. The Rudolph-to-Washington Oklahoma State connection is well documented, so the second-year wideout is the only other Steelers pass-catcher you need on your roster. James Conner, by the way, will remain a RB1 option thanks to heavy volume.
Eric Karabell, senior NFL fantasy writer: I do not like to presume that Rudolph will be bad, because we do not know for sure -- he might be just fine. I certainly would not trade for Smith-Schuster as though he remains a top-10 fantasy wide receiver, but he can remain productive. I had minor concerns about Pittsburgh's passing game anyway, since Donte Moncrief has been terrible. Drop him. I think Smith-Schuster and McDonald remain valuable, and as we await further word on Conner, Jaylen Samuels might become valuable starting this week.
Predict Rudolph's stat line for this season.
Clay: 337-of-537 for 3,860 yards passing, 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions -- and another 96 yards and a score on 33 carries on the ground.
Rank the quarterback drop-off from expected starter to the new starter for the Colts, Jaguars, Jets, Saints and Steelers.
Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders founder: It's difficult because we aren't sure exactly what a few of these teams have just yet, but I see the drop-offs in this order, from largest to smallest:
1. Steelers: This depends on who Roethlisberger is: The quarterback we saw last year (69.6 Total QBR) or the one we've seen so far this year (25.1 Total QBR). I tend to take the longer view on these things, and Rudolph doesn't have the track record that New Orleans' Teddy Bridgewater has.
2. Saints: They had the best starter lost but also, theoretically, the best backup. But Bridgewater's one start in 2018 was not great.
3. Colts: Two weeks ago, I might have had this as the largest drop-off, but we now have two weeks of evidence that Jacoby Brissett is better in 2019 than he was in 2017, whether it be because of his improvement or the improvement of the team around him.
4. Jets: It's safe to assume that Sam Darnold would improve in his second season, and Trevor Siemian is a pretty average backup. That puts the Jets ahead of the Jaguars.
5. Jaguars: For all of Nick Foles' playoff heroics, he hasn't been a great quarterback when forced to play in the last couple regular seasons. We also have two weeks of data with Gardner Minshew playing better than we would expect from a sixth-round pick.
What was FPI's projected record for the Steelers before the season, and what is it now?
Seth Walder, analytics writer: The Steelers can kiss the playoffs goodbye, and FPI is 92% sure of it. The model projected a 9-7 record in the preseason, and that has dropped to a projected 6-10 now. With Rudolph at the helm of the offense, our model now considers the already 0-2 Pittsburgh the 27th-best team in the NFL going forward, so perhaps it's time for Steelers fans to turn their eyes to the draft in hopes of finding their next franchise QB. The No. 1 overall pick is probably out of the question with Miami severely tanking, but the Steelers have a 29% shot at a top-5 selection (Justin Herbert, perhaps?).