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The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Saturday that Ben Roethlisberger has been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Lions. Third-year quarterback Mason Rudolph will get the start Sunday as the backup for the Steelers. Though Rudolph has clocked nine career starts with the team, is he worth a start in fantasy?
In short — probably not. In his nine starts, he’s had just one outing with more than 20 fantasy points and has yet to finish as a QB1 in fantasy football so far in his short career. In his eight-game stint as a stater in 2020, he averaged 190 passing yards, 1.3 passing TDs and 1 INT per game.
The Steelers have put plenty of emphasis on the run game this year with the expertise of rookie RB Najee Harris, and they’ll likely do much of the same against a Lions defense giving up 110 rushing yards and 1.3 rushing touchdowns per game to opposing RBs.
Roethlisberger noted in early November that he is currently vaccinated, which means he could make a return to the Steelers active lineup as soon as Week 11. To clear protocols, Roethlisberger would need to have two negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart.