Ben Roethlisberger injury: Fantasy football impact on JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, Mason Rudolph

In a violent sport like football, injuries are inevitable and can have huge ramifications on the gridiron as well as for season-long Fantasy football and daily Fantasy football players. But when a season-ending injury occurs to a superstar quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger, the effects are only magnified.

Coming off of a season in which he led the NFL with 5,129 passing yards, the loss of Roethlisberger will have an immediate and severe impact throughout Fantasy lineups.

While Pittsburgh's stagnant offense did recover in the second half of their Week 2 loss to Seattle thanks to new starter Mason Rudolph, we should see the Steelers offense look quite differently beginning this week in San Francisco, where the pressure will be on a former backup signal-caller to salvage an 0-2 start. After opening as 3-point favorites, the 49ers are already up to -6.5 in the latest NFL odds. 

Mason Rudolph flashed glimpses this summer and fared well when unexpectedly thrust into action in Week 2. Rudolph completed 12-of-19 attempts for 112 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He's unlikely to approach Roethlisberger's weekly upside, but Rudolph is definitely a priority waiver claim for Fantasy owners that just lost Big Ben, or for those in 2QB formats.

We should also expect to see the Steelers rely on their run game more, which should benefit James Conner. However, Conner himself if dealing with a knee injury, so investing in Jaylen Samuels would be a wise move. Even if Conner is able to play through his injury, Samuels is likely to see increased usage and be used as a receiver if opponents stack the box to shut down the ground game.

Roethlisberger's absence will obviously be a big blow to the wide receiver, particularly standout No. 1 Juju Smith-Schuster, who will almost assuredly see fewer targets. Smith-Schuster did catch a 45-yard bomb from Rudolph against Seattle but otherwise had a rather quiet outing. He remains a locked-in WR1, but it's hard to view Smith-Schuster as a top-5 weekly play until we see how he connects with a new signal-caller.

Things look much bleaker for the rest of Pittsburgh's receiving corps, which already was hard to decipher with Big Ben under center. Donte Moncrief has had a pair of forgettable starts, while rookie Diontae Johnson and slot receiver Ryan Switzer have made little impact. James Washington only played 34 snaps in Week 2 but could be in for an increased role moving forward.

As is often the case for inexperienced quarterbacks, TE Vance McDonald looks like the best bet to benefit from the quarterback change. Mason and McDonald combined for a pair of touchdowns in the second half of Week 2 and a more conservative gameplan in the immediate future should only improve that chemistry. McDonald was viewed by many as a top-10 fantasy option prior to this season and there's a good chance that we see that actually play out -- just not in the manner that we were necessarily expecting. 

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