Chris Mortensen is reporting this morning that the left foot injury suffered by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger yesterday against the Houston Texans is likely just a sprain and is not fractured. Roethlisberger had x-rays and a MRI done after the game but the test were inconclusive because of swelling in the foot.
The Steelers have not confirmed this report and likely won\’t until head coach Mike Tomlin meets the media on Tuesday for his weekly press conference. Even if the injury is just a sprain, the status of Roethlisberger next Sunday against the Titans will still be up in the air. Roethlisberger said after the game that he will play if he can, even if it means casting up the foot. He did just that last year with his right foot for most of the season.
Should the Steelers be without the services of Roethlisberger on Sunday, the next quarterback up, one would think, would be Charlie Batch. Batch has been the back-up for the first four games of the season as Dennis Dixon has been made inactive. This is not a given however as the Steelers might instead choose to go with the more mobile Dixon based on the play of the offensive line thus far. Hard to tell right now.
We should know more about the condition of Roethlisberger on Tuesday and which way Tomlin is leaning should he be forced to sit out a week.
