National Football League

Roethlisberger won't play Sunday vs. Ravens

Published Nov. 28, 2009 7:35 p.m. ET

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Plan B.

The Steelers are sitting Ben Roethlisberger out of Sunday's division matchup with the Ravens and Dennis Dixon will get the start, FOXSports.com has learned.

Big Ben was suffering from exercise-induced headaches as the week progressed and the team's medical staff deemed him unfit for the contest.

The NFL this week launched a new initiative on concussions and is clearly trying to take a more conservative approach when it comes to head trauma.

Roethlisberger practiced all week despite sustaining his fourth concussion since 2006 during a 27-24 overtime loss in Kansas City on Sunday. During his only interview of the week, he said Thursday he had been cleared to play.

However, Roethlisberger continued experiencing headaches resulting from the concussion — his knee struck the knee of Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson as he leaned headfirst during a running play in overtime — and he began debating the wisdom of playing.

Dixon, the former Oregon quarterback who has not played this season, took more snaps than usual in practice Friday.

With Dixon starting, the Steelers likely would rely mostly on running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker and trim the amount of throws Dixon makes. Dixon was an excellent runner in Oregon's spread offense, but the Steelers — like most every NFL team — limit their quarterback's running because of the risk of injury.

The Steelers (6-4), losers of their last two and a game behind Cincinnati (7-3) in the AFC North, were so convinced Roethlisberger would play, they did not sign an experienced quarterback even after backup Charlie Batch broke his left wrist a few plays after replacing Roethlisberger on Sunday. Their game plan for the Ravens (5-5) also was built around Roethlisberger playing.

Batch will miss most or all of the rest of the regular season. Tyler Palko, the former Pitt quarterback who didn't sign or practice with the team until Thursday, would be the backup despite going through only two practices.

Dixon's only game action came in a mop-up role against Cleveland in the final game of last season. He would be the most inexperienced Steelers quarterback to be thrown into a starting role since rookie Mike Kruczek replaced the injured Terry Bradshaw in 1976. Kruczek went 6-0 as a starter despite not throwing a single touchdown pass, and ended his five-season NFL career in 1980 without throwing a scoring pass.

Roethlisberger also had two concussions in 2006, one in a motorcycle accident, and another last season in that Browns game in which Dixon played.

"It's part of the nature of the beast of playing this game," Roethlisberger said Thursday. "It's a violent, physical contact sport and there's a chance you're going to get hit. You guys don't talk about the bruises we have all over our bodies. If I showed you a bruise on my shoulder and a bruise on my shin, it wouldn't get talked about as much. It's a violent sport we play."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.