Tomlin: Roethlisberger 'doing better'

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, recovering from a concussion, was 'doing better' Tuesday, Coach Mike Tomlin said.

Roethlisberger attended a team practice but did not participate.

Tomlin said he might keep his starting quarterback out of practice Wednesday and Thursday. The Steelers, winners of the AFC North, don't start the playoffs until Jan. 11, when they will play at home against either Miami, Indianapolis or San Diego.

"He's doing better," Tomlin said. "He's starting the process of taking the battery of tests that come after one sustains a concussion. I don't know where we are in terms of the results of those tests."

Roethlisberger was only briefly hospitalized Sunday after being bounced off the ground by two Cleveland linebackers late in the first half of a 31-0 Steelers' victory over the Browns, but the quarterback could still be suffering mental sluggishness by the next start, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

That's because there is a change in brain function that can last anywhere from 24 hours to 10 days following a concussion, well after physical symptoms such as disorientation, confusion, dizziness, amnesia and uncoordinated hand-eye movements have faded away and the patient feels fine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center doctors say.