The Steelers quarterback has been cleared to participate in practice Wednesday after being diagnosed with a traumatic ocular migraine Tuesday.
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Still, it will be worth watching this week to see when the Steelers make an official announcement. This morning, Roethlisberger went on his weekly radio show in Pittsburgh shortly after undergoing an IMPACT test for a possible concussion, and he said on the show that he had “aced” the concussion test and was no longer in the protocol, meaning he’d be able to practice Wednesday. Roethlisberger stayed down for a few seconds before getting up and taking another snap but left the game after self-reporting the head injury.
“We acknowledge these guys need to play better; particularly they need to tackle better”, Tomlin said of Blake and Cockrell.
At this point, I can’t tell up from down, a concussion from an optical-whatever-the-heck. I know he failed to live up to lowered expectations on the run-first Seattle Seahawks (not all his fault), but he likely cost you a pick in the first four rounds which means you probably don’t have a better option. “Until coach (Mike) Tomlin announces something different I’m preparing to practice”.
Roethlisberger thought he passed his Tuesday test, but hadn’t yet, leading to his initial proclamation he was OK. However, after Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Big Ben has since said that he is unwilling to risk a brain injury. He did say he’d have to check with a third party.
“We were going to take what they gave us”, Tomlin said. The tight end went down in the Week 12 game with a rib injury and could be out Sunday.
“We want to increase the number of opportunities he gets”, Tomlin said.
As for Bryant, Harrison and Spaeth, all three players played the full game Sunday, so it will be interesting to see if they can resume practicing again on Thursday. “I’m not going to get into outlining my intended rotation with you guys because then I back myself into a corner, and I’m asked more questions regarding that”.
Roethlisberger, who had issues with his peripheral vision after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Seattle’s Michael Bennett, said after Sunday’s game that he’ll play through any injury except one to the brain.
“We didn’t execute it well enough”, Tomlin said. “They need to get together and tell their players what’s going on because I was relaying on what the doctors had told me”. Roethlisberger came on to play instead of the Jones in the win against the Browns, but came off at the end of the game against the Seahawks, a loss. So many young kids, middle school, high school or college, it’s tough to fight through a concussion.
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In fact, Roethlisberger said that earlier in his career, he might not have said anything to the team’s doctors, not wanting to risk being pulled from the game. That’s the one part of your body you shouldn’t mess with. “Just playing football you have to think like that whether you’re a linebacker playing special teams or a receiver in my situation”.
