Steelers Injury Report: Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin splitting hairs over shoulder injury

Ben Roethlisberger has never been one to shy away from a microphone, especially when talking about an injury. To his credit, Roethlisberger is always very up front and honest about his injuries and his status for the next game, but he also can be a bit over-the-top (not the Sylvester Stallone movie) in regards to his many ailments he has suffered while being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maybe it was coincidence, maybe it was planned, but Roethlisberger's weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh is every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Know what happens exactly an hour afterwards? Mike Tomlin's weekly press conference.

This is tricky because on more than one occasion Roethlisberger has talked about his injuries, only to have Tomlin contradict the report to the media in his press conference.

The first instance happened after the Steelers' Week 12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks where Roethlisberger took himself out of the game due to concussion-like symptoms. On his radio show he talked about a unique type of ocular migraine, only to have Tomlin say he is now in the NFL's concussion protocol and has a concussion.

It happened again this week after Roethlisberger injured his shoulder against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card game. Roethlisberger spoke of an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder, but also ligament damage to the same shoulder. An hour later, Tomlin spoke of Roethlisberger being available to the team this Sunday when the team travels to play the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional round of the AFC Playoffs. Tomlin said the injury will be more pain management than anything functional. Tomlin went a step further and even said he expects Roethlisberger to be a limited participant in the team's first practice Wednesday.

Nonetheless, it looks as if Roethlisberger will be attempting to play this Sunday, but Tomlin also said both Landry Jones and Mike Vick will prepare as if they could be a part of the game plan heading into the weekend.

Other injuries of note were Vince Williams and Will Johnson suffering from hamstring injuries, Robert Golden is dealing with his own shoulder injury and that trio's status will be decided throughout the week of practice. Tomlin also said DeAngelo Williams seems to be on the "outside looking in" this week, and the veteran running back recently traveled to Charlotte, NC to see a foot specialist.

For all the injured players on the Steelers roster, their overall availability will become more clear as the team returns to the practice field Wednesday.