Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play Sunday vs. the Detroit Lions.
Roethlisberger was declared out, according to a Steelers spokesperson, and will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The only other Steeler to attempt a pass in the regular season so far is Chris Boswell, who was injured on the incompletion. Mason Rudolph is expected to start at quarterback for Pittsburgh.
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The Steelers (5-3) were 7.5-point favorites over the winless Lions. Detroit (0-8) is coming off a bye while Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Bears last week on Monday Night Football.
Roethlisberger, in his 19th season, hasn’t exactly been lighting up the stat sheet. Through eight games, he has completed 65.6% of his passes for 1,986 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. His 42.2 QBR is 27th in the league.
Randolph is no stranger to starting since he entered the league with the Steelers in 2018.
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Roethlisberger played just two games in 2019 and rested a game last season after the Steelers clinched a playoff spot. In total, Randoph is 201-for-326 (61.7%) for 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games played. He’s made nine starts for the Steelers, most of them coming in 2019. He was benched that season in favor of third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges, who is now in the Canadian Football League.
The Lions and Steelers play on a Fox broadcast at 1 p.m. Sunday in Heinz Field.
Follow the Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@freepress.com or on Twitter @TDavisFreep.
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