On Tuesday, Coach Mike Tomlin said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be managed day-to-day regarding his availability for Sunday's AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Denver Broncos.
Roethlisberger, who has a shoulder injury, took it one step further when he spoke for the first time this week.
"We will just kind of take it day-by-day, but probably hour-by-hour really," said Roethlisberger. "I will take a lot of mental reps, get in there and do my rehab and treatment and everything the doctors say to strengthen it and get back."
Roethlisberger has yet to throw this week and will follow the advice of the team's athletic training staff and doctors as to the how much work he can actually do.
"Today we might see what I can do, hand off, get mental reps," said Roethlisberger. "We are going to take it hour-by-hour."
One thing Roethlisberger won't do is go out there if he feels like it will hurt the team. As much as he wants to play, if he can't throw the ball downfield he understands that could be more of a hindrance than help.
"I want to be out there, unless I am going to hurt the team," said Roethlisberger. "If you can't throw the ball 25-30 yards down the field, I think you are hurting your team. I don't think we put ourselves in that situation. If we can find any way possible to get out there where if I can deal with the pain and make plays, I will deal with it.
"I want to be out there with the guys, but I have always said not at the expense of hurting the team. We are going to do everything we can to get it as stable as we can. We will see what kind of pain things we can deal with on Sunday."
