PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger says he feared he was seriously injured after he heard a popping sound when teammate Max Starks accidentally stepped on his right foot during practice last week.
“It is a pretty scary thing to have a 300-pound guy step on the back of your foot, on your Achilles,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday while discussing the injury for the first time. “He went down, too, so you know he didn’t just graze it.”
Roethlisberger apparently bruised his Achilles’ tendon — the team has not disclosed the exact nature of the injury — during the final half-hour of the Steelers’ final training camp practice at Saint Vincent College on Thursday.
Roethlisberger missed Saturday’s exhibition game at Washington, but returned to practice with the rest of his teammates on Tuesday. Coach Mike Tomlin, who has never seemed worried about the injury, said the quarterback is “fine” and will play as long as the other starters in Saturday’s preseason game against Buffalo.
While his teammates said Roethlisberger would have played against Washington if it had been a regular-season game, the veteran QB was not so sure.
“I’m glad it wasn’t,” he said. “I don’t know. It would be one of those tough ones.”
San Francisco 49ers
Shaun Hill, who was named the 49ers’ starting quarterback earlier this week, left practice after throwing one pass Wednesday morning but said he is fine and will be ready to play in this weekend’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. Hill strained his lower back during practice Tuesday and received treatment.
Arizona Cardinals
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin sat out practice Wednesday with a sore right hamstring and probably will miss Friday’s game against Green Bay. Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Boldin felt a problem with the hamstring late in practice on Tuesday but an MRI showed no serious injury.
Chicago Bears
Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week on his right knee. Dvoracek sprained his right medial collateral ligament in Saturday night’s 17-3 preseason victory over the New York Giants.
Denver Broncos
With backup Chris Simms hobbled by an ankle injury, the Denver Broncos moved to bolster their depth at quarterback Wednesday by signing free agent Ingle Martin.
Simms suffered a high ankle sprain when Seahawks pass rusher Nick Reed fell on his left ankle during the third quarter of Saturday’s 27-13 loss at Seattle. The Broncos have not said how long Simms is expected to be sidelined.
The loss of Simms left starter Kyle Orton and rookie Tom Brandstater as the only healthy quarterbacks on the Broncos’ roster.
Sunday Night Football
Bob Costas will host NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” pregame show from the site of the game starting this season.
The network announced Wednesday that it was tweaking the format of the show. The reunited tandem of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will remain in the New York studio to provide highlights. They will be joined by two new hires who recently retired from the NFL: former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and ex-New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison.
Costas will share the onsite set with game announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth.
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