Nine days after suffering a sprained ankle that didn’t keep Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from finishing a game against the Browns, Roethlisberger officially has a 50-50 chance of playing on Monday night against the 49ers.
The team has announced that Roethlisberger is questionable.
On last night’s episode of NBC SportsTalk, Peter King explained that mixed signals are coming from the team as to whether Roethlisberger will play. Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Roethlisberger has a Grade 1 high ankle sprain, the mildest form of sprain.
More problematic for the Steelers, especially if Roethlisberger plays with reduced mobility, is the fact that center Maurkice Pouncey has been ruled out, also with a Grade 1 high ankle sprain. Pouncey’s absence requires left guard Doug Legursky to slide over to center. When that happened during the Week 14 win over the Browns, former starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu was penalized three times in two quarters.
Trai Essex is expected to get the nod at left guard.