Steelers GM Kevin Colbert waiting for chance to watch Ben Roethlisberger throw passes

Like the organization’s rabid fan base, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert is anxious to watch quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throw passes as he continues his rehabilitation from right elbow surgery.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown of NFL facilities for workouts, Colbert isn’t sure when that wait is going to end.

Roethlisberger, who turned 38 in March, had surgery in September to repair tendons in his elbow, and he began lightly throwing a football in February when he received medical clearance.

“So far, so good,” Colbert said Monday on a conference call with fans.

Colbert addressed questions for 15 minutes, but he could offer little update about Roethlisberger’s recent progress.

“All indications from Ben himself in communication with our doctors and with our trainers and the bits of video that we’ve seen him throw earlier in the spring are all encouraging,” Colbert said. “We haven’t seen him throw live because he hasn’t been in our building. He’s only been in the building for rehab checks with doctors and trainers.

“He can’t physically get out on the field in this situation.”

Per NFL rules, teams with returning head coaches such as the Steelers can’t begin offseason workouts until April 20. Teams with new head coaches can begin conducting workouts on April 6, but all NFL on-field activities are on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“This would be the time of the year where the players would be allowed to circle back in and begin offseason programs,” Colbert said. “All of that is on hold. At this moment, we have to rely on what our doctors and what our trainers and what Ben himself is giving up, and that’s encouraging.”

Colbert said, to his knowledge, no member on the team or anyone in the organization has tested positive for covid-19.

Colbert, his staff, scouts and coaches have been working at home during this social distancing period. With the pandemic forcing teams to cancel in-person visits and college pro days, Colbert said the Steelers have made less contact with prospects than in previous years, but he doesn’t see it as a detriment.

“We have a lot of information,” Colbert said. “Do we have all the information we normally would? No, but we’re not different than any other team in that regard. We feel comfortable with the information we have.”

The Steelers have added to their offseason roster in the past week by signing five players from the XFL, which canceled its season after five games because of the outbreak.

“We still have few more in the works,” Colbert said. “It was good that those players were made available to us. Going through the draft as we are with some limited information, that could curtain some college free agents that we are able to sign. Knowing these (XFL) players a little bit better, we feel it was important to add as many as we could who could help us in terms of being competitive players for training camp.”