PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger was "hurt" by Steelers teammate Hines Ward's remarks questioning why a concussion kept the quarterback out of an important game against the Baltimore Ravens. But Roethlisberger now agrees that he shouldn't have played.
Roethlisberger patched up his relationship with Ward during a phone call Monday, and the two have since moved on to Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders.
"He reached out to me, and I told him I was just hurt more than anything else," Roethlisberger said Thursday. "You know, we got over it, moved past it and now we're preparing."
Ward apologized separately to Roethlisberger and the Steelers, saying he spoke out of frustration soon after learning the quarterback wouldn't play in the 20-17 overtime loss in Baltimore. Ward didn't know at the time of the interview that a team doctor recommended that Roethlisberger not play because of post-concussion headaches.
Roethlisberger received at least his fourth concussion since 2006 the previous week in Kansas City.
The quarterback said he was "in shock" when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin unexpectedly told him the day before the game that he wouldn't play. Now that he has had time to consider the reasons for the benching, Roethlisberger said the move made sense.
"[I] respected what they said," Roethlisberger said. "You do have to think about your future and your family. It's not fun, but you can get knee replacement surgery, you can have rotator cuff surgeries, but you can't get a new brain."
"A lot of people forget the accident that I had," Roethlisberger said. "They [the doctors] remembered that. It was life-threatening."
Roethlisberger said he hasn't had a recurrence of the headaches brought on by physical activity that occurred following three practices last week.
"I feel great," he said. "I'm ready to go ... ready to rock and roll."
