Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger to continue to wear knee brace on injured knee

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their bye week, and are as healthy as they could possibly be with 6 weeks left in the regular season. One of the players who has suffered several injuries is none other than quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger's sprained MCL in his left knee is improving, but it isn't healed to the point where he will be able to play without a brace on the injured joint.

Roethlisberger told media before practice Wednesday he is planning on keeping the brace on for the immediate future until he and the doctors feel comfortable with him ditching the device which provides stability to the injured ligament.

In Week 10, against the Cleveland Browns, Roethlisberger was nursing a mid-foot sprain, which caused him to wear a shoe an extra size larger to facilitate a plate to add stability to his foot. Although he will still have to wear a plate in his shoe, he won't have to have a larger shoe on the injured foot.

These devices, like the plate in the shoe and his knee brace, are used to help prevent further injury, but can become cumbersome and make playing the game more difficult. Roethlisberger's mobility has been limited as his career has progressed, and with these devices impacting his left leg will certainly hinder that mobility even more.

Nonetheless, the Steelers' signal caller is certainly healthier now than he has been since that Week 3 game when he went down with the knee injury. Roethlisberger will need a clean bill of health if the Steelers, 6-4, hope to make a playoff push in the final 6 games of the regular season.