Jan 5th 2009 8:27PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, Steelers, AFC North, AFC WestAfter a week off, Ben Roethlisberger returned to the practice field on Monday after passing his final post-concussion tests.

Just a little over a week after he was carted off the Heinz Field immobilized in a neck brace, Roethlisberger apparently is fully cleared to start on Sunday against the Chargers. Roethlisberger threw for over 300 yards in his regular season game against the Chargers, but he was sacked four times.

As Steelers fans will remember, the last time Roethlisberger was carted off the field with a concussion, he played the worst game of his career the next week–a four-interception debacle against the Raiders. The Steelers don’t need Roethlisberger to win the game this weekend as much as they need him to be efficient, move the chains and avoid mistakes, but if he does show signs of rustiness, it will be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin would pull him for Byron Leftwich. My guess is Roethlisberger takes every snap unless he’s injured, no matter how he plays.