Player Profile : Ben Roethlisberger

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It was revealed today that along with suffering a separated shoulder in Monday’s game against the Chiefs, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger also sustained a dangerous injury to his ribs which has the potential to be life-threatening if aggravated.

And this is where most sports writers move on and say what a deadly blow this is for Pittsburgh.

People, let’s regroup: this is a LITERAL DEADLY BLOW for Ben.

Perhaps the underreaction is due to the fact that Roethlisberger is one of the more injury-prone quarterbacks in the NFL. That’s not to say he isn’t tough…I still have an all-too-clear mental picture of his bloody, broken nose getting pushed back into place on the sidelines during a game against the Ravens in 2010. It’s just that he’s a frequent flier on the team’s weekly injury list. (Seriously…look at that list.)

Roethlisberger was also involved in a serious motorcycle accident in 2006 which left him with severe head and facial injuries (he was not wearing a helmet). And yet, after fracturing his jaw, losing some teeth and undergoing a 7 hour surgery, he still returned to play in the Steelers preseason games just two months later.

So, clearly, this isn’t his first ride on the injury wagon…but it’s certainly one of his scarier go rounds.