“I’ll gradually ramp up the number of days and the throws and the distance and the velocity. I really feel like I could let it rip right now if I had to, but what’s the point? There’s no need for me to rush it.”

From Ron Cook’s interview with #7:

I spent a lot of time this winter wondering what it’s like being Ben Roethlisberger these days.

“There’s pressure, but I put more pressure on myself,” he said Thursday. “As much as the fans and my teammates want me out there, I want to be out there even more. I saw last season what this team is capable of doing. I’m pushing myself to come back better than ever.”

“I have no doubts I’m going to be able to come back and play well — none,” Roethlisberger said. “I have complete confidence in that. I’m throwing without pain for the first time in years. Some games, I would have a little pain. Some games, I would have a lot of pain. But in the New England game and the Seattle game [last season], it got to be too much. To be able to throw without pain now? That feels nice. That’s a nice feeling. I know I’m not getting any younger, but I feel younger because I don’t have any pain.”

Roethlisberger said he will increase his throwing from twice a week to three times a week next week.

“Right now, it’s about 40 throws a day and about 20 yards. I throw from my knees and I throw flat-footed. It’s mainly just about getting my spin back.

“I’ll gradually ramp up the number of days and the throws and the distance and the velocity. I really feel like I could let it rip right now if I had to, but what’s the point? There’s no need for me to rush it. Our goal was for me to be 80, 90, 100% by OTAs and minicamp. Now that it looks like those things are going to be canceled [because of the COVID-19 pandemic], I can take my time a little more.”

Roethlisberger said he threw to teammate Ryan Switzer on Thursday. It gave him a nice lift at a time he’s home-bound like the rest of us.

“He’s in my small Bible study group and he called and […]