The Facts: The Steelers still don't have a concrete timeline for Roethlisberger's rehab on his season-ending elbow injury, but Art Rooney II is encouraged. "Everything we hear so far is positive," he said. "In particular, Ben's attitude about things. He seems to feel good about it. He really, still, is in the early stages of his rehab. He hasn't been able to do a whole lot yet. That's going to start to ramp up here over the next couple of months, obviously. We're anxious to see his progress."

Diehards Line:As previously noted, HC Mike Tomlin recently told reporters the franchise quarterback is approaching a "significant" date in his elbow rehab. "I know he's due for an update around the first of February that will be significant in terms of mapping out what's next," Tomlin said. The Steelers' 2019 season was undercut by Roethlisberger's season-ending elbow injury, which required surgery and forced Pittsburgh to turn to Mason Rudolph in Week 2 and, eventually, to Devlin "Duck" Hodges. Roethlisberger turns 38 in March and will approach his 17th season while under a contract that runs through 2021. The agreement includes a dead cap number of $12.5 million in the final year of the deal, a tolerable number to carry if Pittsburgh turns to a younger signal-caller on a rookie deal by that point.