Ben Roethlisberger has learned the hard way this season that injuries are an unfortunate part of football.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback already has missed multiple games with a sprained MCL in Week 3 and a foot sprain in Week 9, and more could be on the horizon after he suffered what he is calling a “traumatic ocular migraine” on Sunday. Roethlisberger says he hopes to play this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, but he will have to pass the NFL’s concussion protocol first.
“I anticipate I will be good to go for Sunday,” Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. “I didn’t have any symptoms, just that peripheral vision and it went away 30 minutes after the game. I have played through many injuries, but the brain is not an injury you want to play with.”
Roethlisberger self-reported the injury, which he explained his reasoning behind later in the interview.
“It doesn’t make you less of a man or a football player to come out of the game,” Roethlisberger said. “I feel like I made the right (decision). I think more guys should do it. When you’re done, you want to be a husband or father, and if I have these brain injuries it’s not worth it.”
No matter what the actual injury is — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he “sustained what is described as a concussion” — Roethlisberger still has a chance to play this weekend. But, as he said during his interview, brain injuries aren’t something you want to take lightly.
Thumbnail photo via Scott Olmos/USA TODAY Sports Images
