Ben Roethlisberger returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers this afternoon after being suspended earlier in the offseason.
Even though the quarterback was unable to practice with his teammates while undergoing NFL-mandated clinical evaluations, ESPN's James Walker reports that Roethlisberger didn't miss a beat.
Roethlisberger looked happy and excited to be back, and so were his teammates. He worked with the first-team offense. He also joked with players and even head-butted his offensive linemen before team drills.
Add to the fact that Roethlisberger made several great throws rarely seen this offseason with Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch running the offense, and it was a good day overall for the embattled quarterback.
I don't know how much of an accomplishment it is to outshine the likes of Leftwich, Dixon and Batch, but it certainly can't hurt that reports are indicating that he is just as good as he was before all of this began.