Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned Wednesday to fully participate in practice as he tries to come back from an ankle injury.
Roethlisberger told reporters his ankle was "a little better each day" and he wanted to see how it responded to practice.
"It would be nice to get an extra week of rest, but I prefer to play," Roethlisberger said about resting the ankle in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Roethlisberger had "a shot" to play after sitting out the Steelers' 27-0 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Roethlisberger first sustained the injury Dec. 8 against the Cleveland Browns and played through the injury the following week in the Steelers' loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but he was noticeably hindered by the injury.
Charlie Batch started against the Rams and would be in line to do the same Sunday should Roethlisberger be unable to play.
The Steelers are trying to lock up the AFC North title and a first-round playoff bye but need some help from the rival Baltimore Ravens to do so.
Linebacker James Harrison (neck), guard Doug Legursky (shoulder), safety Troy Polamalu (knee) and running back Mewelde Moore (knee) all missed practice for the Steelers on Wednesday. Wide receiver Mike Wallace (ankle) and linebacker LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) were limited.
