Ben Roethlisberger has played through plenty of injuries during his career, but he has no plans of being on the field if he believes his head is hurt. The quarterback self-reported a concussion in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks and took himself out of the game as Landry Jones took his place. Roethlisberger made it clear that while the Steelers are now under investigation for the incident, he does not intend to play through head injuries.
Roethlisberger took a hit in the fourth quarter and did not take himself out of the game until nine plays later. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the quarterback self-reported concussion symptoms and now the Steelers are in hot water as Roethlisberger undergoes the NFL's concussion protocol. While Roethlisberger believes he will be fine approaching Week 13, there are no guarantees and the quarterback has no plans on pushing it.
"I have played through many injuries but the brain is not an injury you want to play with," Roethlisberger said, via The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93.7. "I didn't feel right, it doesn't make you less of a man or a football player to come out of the game."
According to the quarterback, he believes he will be cleared to play Week 13, but if not then Landry Jones will get another start. The backup quarterback showed some signs of potential filling in for Roethlisberger earlier in the season. However, now he does not have someone like Le'Veon Bell to help him out. Jones admits he simply tries not to overthink the idea of starting for the Steelers.
"To be honest with you, I just have to go out there and play," Jones said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I can't play timid. I can't worry about mistakes and worry about the future. I just have to cut it loose. You can't over-think things. You just have to go make plays within the offense."
Fantasy owners would be wise to pay attention to this storyline throughout the week. Many people will want to jump on Markus Wheaton after his career day in Seattle to the tune of 201 yards off nine catches. With Heath Miller dealing with a rib injury, Wheaton along with Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant will be very critical to whichever quarterback is under center in the game.
"When Heath went down, I kind of stepped in," Wheaton said, via ESPN.com. "Those two guys on the outside have been making a lot of splash plays. Obviously teams would want to take that away."
The Steelers are preparing to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13. The team is hopeful to have a fully healthy roster on Sunday as they remain just outside the playoff bubble.