Steelers QB Roethlisberger cleared to practice after concussion protocol; can

Roethlisberger on Wednesday said a team physician told him on the sideline against Seattle that he didn’t have a concussion.

Roethlisberger said he is now free of concussion-like symptoms and expects to play when the Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday. LB Ryan Shazier, who also suffered a concussion against the Seahawks, was a limited participant in practice as was LB Sean Spence (hamstring).

Head Coach: Mike Tomlin, 9 season as Steelers head coach and 9 National Football League season as head coach (88-48 overall regular season, 5-4 playoffs). “We will be very diligent about their care”. “We will lean on the expert advice of our medical staff”.

Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote Monday it was inevitable that Kobe Bryant would retire after this season.

“I anticipate I will be good to go for Sunday”, Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.

He said Tuesday that his vision problems Sunday have been related to a traumatic ocular migraine.

Roethlisberger expressed some frustration about the way the news of his concussion was handled Tuesday.

The quarterback said “it doesn’t make you less of a man or a football player to come out of the game”, and that family is a big consideration when dealing with head injuries.

The when part? Maybe when the injuries start taking their toll. I’m going to leave that up to the experts.

Like some Abbott and Costello skit, dizzyingly negotiating us through a maze of bafflement and disorientation until we throw up our hands and say, “I don’t know what the hell is going on here”.

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS??: Seattle helped itself in its attempt to get back to the postseason moving into a tie – in terms of record – with Atlanta for the second wild card spot in the NFC.

“I anticipate being fine and good to go tomorrow (Thursday) in practice”, added Roethlisberger. That and in the future, the organization, Tomlin and the player involved need to all be on the same page about what to say to the media are the only clear things in all of this.

The regiment includes a rest and recovery period, light aerobic exercises, supervised cardiovascular workouts, non-contact drills and passing a concussion test. In the fourth quarter, a helmet-to-helmet collision with Michael Bennett drew a penalty, but Big Ben stayed in the game.

It’s easier for Roethlisberger to take himself out of a game than other players because of his financial and positional security.

Through the first ten games of the season, third year wide receiver Markus Wheaton seemed to play no role in the Steelers’ offense, and it looked like he would have no future with the team.

Roethlisberger fired relentlessly, but finished the game before his teammates did. He made a decision to have backup quarterback Landry Jones line up as holder (a position he doesn’t play, so the play was telegraphed), then move back about nine yards behind the center in an odd shotgun formation.

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The Indianapolis Colts, though, continue to hold them off thanks to 40-year-old quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who remains unbeaten in relief of the injured Andrew Luck after beating Tampa Bay.