Roethlisberger Runs The First Team, Leftwich Sees Reduced Reps

An interesting part of the Steelers offseason will be how the quarterback reps are split up. Ben Roethlisberger has been the established starter since he came into the league so he's got plenty of experience with the offense. However, he'll be suspended at least the first four games of the season so at some point this offseason Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will have to increase the first team reps for whoever will take his place (expected to be Byron Leftwich).

This week Roethlisberger is handling the first-team duties, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"What we want to do is give Ben quality reps so he can get re-acclimated and improve and work on his game," Tomlin said. "And we want to continue to give Dennis reps because he is a young guy. When you're talking about working with four quarterbacks, of course reps are going to be scarce in some instances. For the purposes of this week, if there is going to be a reduction in reps it is going to be at the expense of Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch."

Meanwhile, Tomlin says he doesn't mind the "circus atmosphere" surrounding the Steelers OTAs because he "can control it." As he (correctly) explains, if they win, it's not a distraction and if they lose, it is a distraction.

Tomlin also said Roethlisberger, who was unavailable for comment after Tuesday's return to OTAs, would speak to the media at the appropriate time.