Another day, another Ben Roethlisberger injury mini-misunderstanding.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback did not join his teammates for practice Sunday at the team's facility after rain forced the workout to be moved from St. Vincent College. Roethlisberger had his left foot stepped on by a teammate late during Saturday's practice in Latrobe.
After the Sunday practice Roethlisberger said, "It's good. No worries." He added that coach Mike Tomlin reasoned it would be good for the 30-year-old quarterback's body to have 48 hours off. The team is off Monday.
USA Today reported that Roethlisberger told the newspaper Saturday that he had an ankle sprain. Sunday, the two-time Super Bowl winner said, "I don't know where that came from; it completely just got stepped on."
The confusion follows an incident earlier last week in which Roethlisberger revealed he had a slight tear in the rotator cuff of his right arm sustained during a game in November. Roethlisberger has not missed a game or practice due to that. He said he is limiting unnecessary throws before practice but has been repeatedly seen throwing balls as part of good-natured competitions with teammates.
Saturday, Tomlin downplayed the fact Roethlisberger left practice early, cracking a joke and declaring the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback "fine."
Roethlisberger's left ankle was badly sprained toward the end of last season, causing him to miss a game against the St. Louis Rams and be hobbled in a handful of others.
In other Steelers injury news coming out of Sunday's practice:
- Second-year cornerback Curtis Brown left the workout early due to knee soreness
- Punter Jeremy Kapinos continues to be no-shows practices due to back discomfort. Tomlin characterized him "week to week."
- Tomlin, when asked if any of his injured players could possibly return in time for Thursday's preseason opener in Philadelphia: "I don't know at this point. We're taking some of those things day to day. ... Some of those guys are week to week. The vast majority of the PUP guys, obviously, are week to week. So we'll evaluate their position when we get back from Philly."
Follow Steelers reporter Chris Adamski on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLPIT and @BuzzsawPGH.