The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to start Ben Roethlisberger in Sunday's pivotal division tilt with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he has no reservations about Big Ben this week and the team is comfortable with where the quarterback is in his recovery from an MCL injury and knee bruise.
"At this juncture we aren't going to assume Ben is going to be limited from a mobility standpoint," Tomlin said, per NFL Media's Aditi Kinkhabwala.
Roethlisberger has missed the Steelers' last four games with the injury. Pittsburgh went 2-2 in those contests, including Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with Landry Jones under center.
The Steelers are planning to give Roethlisberger his normal (pre-injury) complement of first-team reps this week, NFL Media's Albert Breer reports.
Earlier Tuesday, Big Ben told KDKA-FM that he'd defer to coaches on his status.
"I always want to play ... but it's the coach's decision," he said, adding: "I will give it everything I have."
Sunday's matchup against the undefeated Bengals is huge for the AFC North title. With a loss, the Steelers will fall to .500 and be in a heated race just to earn a wild-card bid. If the Andy Dalton-led Bengals earn the road win they will own a stranglehold on the division.
