Roethlisberger Concussed No Longer, Will Start Sunday

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says that Ben Roethlisberger has not been suffering any concussion-related headaches, and should start for Pittsburgh on Sunday when they take on the Oakland Raiders, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune.

Roethlisberger’s absence last week during the team’s key game against divisional rival Baltimore caused a bit of controversy, as wide receiver Hines Ward questioned Roethlisberger’s toughness in so many words, before walking those comments back on Monday.

The Steelers have dropped three consecutive games, falling back into the thick of the AFC wildcard race. Their schedule eases up the next two weeks, with Oakland and Cleveland coming up, but they face key matchups against Green Bay and Baltimore thereafter.

From Jay Glazer:

The Steelers are sitting Ben Roethlisberger out of Sunday’s division matchup with the Ravens and Dennis Dixon will get the start, FOXSports.com has learned.

Big Ben was suffering from exercise-induced headaches as the week progressed and the team’s medical staff deemed him unfit for the contest.

As we touched on earlier in the week, it’ll certainly be interesting to see what Dennis Dixon’s running ability brings to the offense. Of course, car wrecks are also interesting, which is what a first career start against the Ravens may look like.

Adam Caplan of Scout.com reports that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed all of the concussion tests the team put him through on Monday.

Barring any lingering effects from the concussion, Roethlisberger will practice on Wednesday, and should be on the field on Sunday when the Steelers take on the Ravens in a key divisional matchup.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Ben Roethlisbeger “seems to be fine” a source told the Post-Gazette today after he left yesterday’s game in Kansas City following a blow to the head in overtime of the Steelers’ 27-24 loss.

Roethlisberger took various tests today to determine if he sustained any type of concussion and while those tests results were not available, the source close to the situation said the quarterback appears to be well enough to play Sunday night in Baltimore.

So, Dennis Dixon’s primetime debut may have to wait for another night. He’ll likely move up to the No. 2 spot though with Charlie Batch out for six weeks with a broken wrist. The Steelers are also looking to bring in another free agent QB this week.