ALTOONA, Pa. -- Steelers fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the the team announced early Saturday morning Ben Roethlisberger has passed COVID protocols and will be joining the team in Los Angeles ahead of Sunday's game against the Chargers. He will be added to the 53-man roster and will be active for the game.
Roethlisberger was placed on the COVID list last Saturday and needed to have two consecutive negative tests in to be able to rejoin the team. The rest of the team boarded their charter flight to Los Angeles early Saturday morning prior to Roethlisberger's clearance. He will fly separate from the team and join them upon his arrival later Saturday.
It is expected Roethlisberger will start for the Steelers Sunday night against the Chargers replacing Mason Rudolph, who was the starting quarterback against the Lions in Roethlisberger's absence.
The Steelers under Rudolph's guidance tied lowly Detroit, with the backup going 30-for-50 for 242 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a game that featured a comedy of errors for both teams.
Despite not taking snaps or practicing this week, Roethlisberger was in constant communication with the coaching staff and attended meetings virtually to stay up to date on game planning and what to expect against Los Angeles. The lack of practice reps isn't something new for Roethlisberger, who routinely is held out of practice leading up to games each week.
The Steelers will still be without a plethora of impact players this weekend — T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and Kevin Dotson have been ruled out for Sunday night's contest, as well as all-pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick who is currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. One bright spot will be the return of Chase Claypool, who will be active against the Chargers after healing a his toe injury that's sidelined him the past two weeks.
Roethlisberger will be taking on a depleted Chargers defense that will be without starting defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, his backup Christian Covington and starting linebacker Drue Tranquill — all on the Reserve/COVID-19 list — though it's possible some could return prior to the game Sunday night.
Dotson, who suffered a high ankle sprain in last week's 16-16 tie against the Lions, was placed on injured reserve Saturday afternoon.
Dotson, a second-year player who started four games in 2020 and had started every game this season, will be out at least the next three games.
The team, as expected, also elevated safety Karl Joseph from the practice squad for the game against the Chargers. Joseph, a 2016 first-round draft pick of the Raiders, has been on the Steelers practice squad all season and is expected to be among the players the Steelers use to help replace Fitzpatrick.
The Steelers also elevated defensive lineman Daniel Archibong and linebacker Delontae Scott to the Active/Inactive roster for the game.
Joseph, Archibong and Scott all will revert back to the practice squad following Sunday's game.
