Fantasy, gambling impact of Ben Roethlisberger season-ending elbow injury

Editor’s update 12:00 p.m. 9/16: Ben Roethlisberger is going to be placed on season-ending injured reserve with his elbow injury, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Roethlisberger suffered the injury in the second quarter of the Steelers Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Mason Rudolph will take over as the starting quarterback for the Steelers as they prepared to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.

Editor’s update 9:10 a.m. 9/16: Ben Roethlisberger is meeting with doctors to determine if he will need elbow surgery following his Week 2 injury. A decision is expected today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Elbow surgery would likely end his season, but we’ll hold off making any pronouncements for the time being.

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a potentially significant loss on Sunday, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left the team’s Week 2 matchup vs. the Seattle Seahawks with an elbow injury. He appeared to injure the elbow on this throw in the second quarter.

Mason Rudolph replaced Roethlisberger, and we are still waiting for word on the veteran QB’s status. Rudolph was completion-less with an interception in his first three attempts.

Fantasy impact: Any extended absence would be a problem for all of the Steelers skill position players. JuJu Smith-Schuster likely remains a strong receiver regardless of the quarterback, but would be worth downgrading at least a little bit with Rudolph at the position. Rudolph is not someone to start, and we are left to wonder if JuJu or someone else becomes a security blanket for the second-year quarterback. Running back James Conner would continue getting plenty of carries if Roethlisberger misses time, but he likely faces more eight-man boxes initially.

Gambling impact: The Steelers travel to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3. The Westgate SuperBook had a lookahead line of 49ers -1 earlier this week. The 49ers are thumping the Cincinnati Bengals right now, so that coupled with a potential Roethlisberger absence will move this line at least a little bit. If we get an update that Roethlisberger is in question for Week 3, I could see the 49ers opening at -5 or more. If we hear that Roethlisberger is fine, the line maybe increases to two given the 49ers success in Week 2 and the Steelers own struggles. If we don’t have an update from Mike Tomlin, the line might open at three or four.

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
Odds and lines subject to change. See website for actual odds.
*21+. NJ/WV only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See website for details.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is FoochNN) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.