Ben Roethlisberger's status for Sunday's Divisional Round game is very much in doubt.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback revealed during a radio interview Tuesday that he has torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder in addition to a sprained AC joint.
Roethlisberger said he is "definitely sore" and has yet to test the shoulder since Saturday's wild-card win over the Bengals.
"I'll go in tomorrow with the intent to see what I can do," Roethlisberger told KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh. "I honestly don't know. I haven't tried to throw a football since the game, and maybe that's not even the right thing to do right away.
"I'll see the doctors and trainers tomorrow, we'll evaluate kind of how I feel. If anything, maybe I can practice and hand off and still get some mental reps that way. So we'll really just kind of see how it goes tomorrow."
Roethlisberger left during the third quarter on Saturday, and was carted to the locker room before returning in the fourth quarter to lead Pittsburgh to an 18-16 comeback victory. Roethlisberger was clearly limited upon his return, but the Steelers' season was saved by consecutive personal foul penalties by the Bengals that set up the game-winning field goal.
"It didn't hurt when I reached back to throw," Roethlisberger said of the final possession. "But it was pushing forward to throw and then the end of the throw. So I definitely felt like I was shortening up my motion up a little bit, which is why we threw some screens, and couldn't really get the ball down the field. ... I think it just more affected how I could throw it."
The admission that Roethlisberger has ligament damage is killer news for the Steelers, who now stand a very real chance of starting Landry Jones on Sunday against the top-seeded Broncos in Denver.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Tuesday that Big Ben will be managed day to day, and "has a chance" to play. Roethlisberger will likely be a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, and will ramp up his workload throughout the week.
Roethlisberger has surprised us before with his ability to work through injuries, but playing this weekend would be impressive even by his standards.
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Source: NFL
