Ben Roethlisberger’s sprained left ankle looks, well, more like an ankle than it did after last week’s 14-3 win over the Browns.

The swelling is down. The rainbow of colors that surrounded the mangled joint earlier in the week have been reduced to a little black here, a little blue there.

That doesn’t mean the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is any closer to playing on Monday night against San Francisco.

Roethlisberger sat out his third practice in a row on Thursday, hoping another 24 hours of rest will help him avoid missing his first start due to injury in more than two years.

“The goal is as soon as possible to get in there and get in as much work as I can,” Roethlisberger said.

That might not be until Saturday at the earliest, and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said the team could wait until after warm-ups against the 49ers to make a decision.

Veteran Charlie Batch will get the call if Roethlisberger can’t go, though Roethlisberger is doing everything he can to get ready.

Hot tubs. Cold tubs. Range of motion exercises. Massages. Roethlisberger was even fitted for a custom-made ankle brace on Thursday which he plans to wear whenever he returns.

While he’s no stranger to playing hurt — he’s already dealt with a sprained left foot and a fractured right thumb this year — the problem this time is the inability to execute even the most routine tasks.

“If this was just a matter of pain, I’d be out there, but it’s being physically unable to do certain things,” he said.

Arians acknowledged if Roethlisberger tried to practice on Thursday, he would have to work exclusively out of the shotgun.

Getting under center and taking a snap is something Roethlisberger was able to do during the second half against the Browns, though he chalked it up to the heat of the moment.

“The second half of that game you’re playing off adrenaline, you’re playing off emotion,” he said. “The next couple days after that, I just kind of shook my head because I couldn’t have done it. I don’t know how I did.”

Roethlisberger was at least able to briefly shed the walking boot he’s gingerly hobbled around in for the previous six days.

The doctors told him to walk around but don’t get cute.

“The more I’m out of it, the more I want to move it,” Roethlisberger said. “Movement is good because it gets the fluid out but I also catch myself every once in awhile turning it sideways or doing something and it almost puts me to the ground.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Roethlisberger last missed a start due to injury against Baltimore two years ago, when a concussion forced him to watch Dennis Dixon play in a 20-17 overtime loss.

It will be the 37-year-old Batch, however, who will get the nod if Roethlisberger can’t play. The Steelers went 1-1 with Batch under center last year while Roethlisberger served a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Arians stressed the gameplan will not change if Batch starts, though Batch hasn’t topped 200 yards passing in a game since making an emergency start at the end of the 2007 season. Roethlisberger has gone over 200 yards in all but two of his starts this year.

Even if he plays, however, the Steelers are likely to be more conservative and rely on the defense and the running game. The 49ers (10-3) have been one of the league’s biggest surprises but aren’t the kind of team that lights up a scoreboard.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous, and the Steelers could be decidedly short-handed. Roethlisberger is just one of a handful of regulars who may be out. Linebacker James Harrison is still waiting to see if his one-game suspension for a series of illegal hits on defenseless players will be overturned, while center Maurkice Pouncey is nursing his own left ankle sprain and joined Roethlisberger in the training room on Thursday.

Safety Troy Polamalu (hamstring), right tackle Marcus Gilbert (illness) and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (right foot) also did not participate in practice though Polamalu and Gilbert are expected to play.

Whether Roethlisberger joins them likely won’t be decided until the team is on the West Coast. Though Arians and head coach Mike Tomlin have said they would like to see their quarterback practice at least once, a good walkthrough may be enough, at least for Roethlisberger.

“If I’m not out there, it’s because they didn’t feel comfortable with me being out there to protect myself,” he said. “They know better than I do. I just tell them whether I can go or not and I think I can go all the time.”

By Will Graves, Associated Press

LATROBE, Pa. — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin turned toward practice field No. 2 at Saint Vincent College just before 5 p.m. on Thursday and yelled “suit’em up!”

And just like that, offensive tackle Willie Colon went back to work.

While fellow lineman Doug Legursky sprinted to grab his helmet and shoulder pads — singing Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle” as he did it — Colon took his time. He ran his hand through his braids and slowly made his way to his spot in the stretching line with the rest of his teammates.

The 28-year-old Colon and other free agents across the league were finally allowed to practice Thursday when the NFL lockout officially ended after the NFL Players Association ratified the new collective bargaining agreement with owners, ending 4½ months of posturing, negotiating and uncertainty.

Colon’s wait was longer. Much longer. He hadn’t hit someone in more than 13 months and wondered if he’d ever be the same after tearing the Achilles’ tendon in his right leg in June 2010.

His journey back to the field has been arduous at best and frustrating at worst. It’s why he didn’t race over to the rest of his teammates. He wanted 30 seconds to appreciate the start of the rest of his football life.

“I’ve been ready for this,” Colon said. “I know how hard I worked.”

Even if Colon wasn’t exactly thrilled with the circumstances.

As anxious as he was to start earning the five-year, $29-million deal he signed last week, he wasn’t so eager that he was going to rubber-stamp the CBA. Colon voted against ratifying the new deal.

He was joined by several other members of the defending AFC champions who were concerned about the way the negotiations were handled and the autonomy NFL commissioner Roger Goodell maintained when it came to doling out player discipline.

“We felt like it was getting shoved down our throats,” Colon said. “Our player (representative) wasn’t comfortable with it. We’re a strong locker room. We’ve been through too much. We’re not going to just file it away the way other teams do. We do what we want, we make our own rooms and we said ‘no.’”

Pittsburgh player rep Ryan Clark declined to confirm whether the team voted as a whole against the new CBA, as did quarterback Charlie Batch, a member of the NFLPA’s executive committee.

Still, Clark acknowledged the team had issues with Goodell’s ability to serve as judge and jury when it came to handing out punishment for illegal hits. The Steelers were a favorite target last season, with linebacker James Harrison fined four times by the league for illegal contact.

LATROBE, Pa. (AP)—The Pittsburgh Steelers cut versatile wide receiver
Antwaan Randle El(notes) and tackle Max Starks(notes) on Thursday, the start of what could be
a significant roster overhaul.

Players arrived for the start of training camp Thursday with the team more
than $10 million over the $120.4 million salary cap.

Randle El, a college quarterback at Indiana who became a receiver in the
NFL, threw a touchdown pass to Hines Ward(notes) to clinch Pittsburgh’s win over
Seattle in the 2006 Super Bowl. He parlayed his Super Bowl success into a
lucrative contract with the Redskins, but struggled in four seasons in
Washington before returning to Pittsburgh in 2010.

He failed to make a significant impact, posting career lows in receptions
(22) and yards (253) as his playing time diminished following the rise of wide
receiver Mike Wallace(notes).

Starks was drafted by the Steelers in the third round (75th overall) in
2004. He started 68 games in his seven seasons in Pittsburgh, including seven in
2010 before being placed on injured reserve with a neck problem. Starks started
two Super Bowls for the Steelers but underwent neck surgery last year, leaving
his future cloudy.

Starks’ departure leaves the Steelers thin—at least for the moment—at
offensive tackle. The team is looking to re-sign veteran Willie Colon(notes), who
missed the 2010 season due to injury. The Steelers are also looking at Jonathan
Scott(notes), who played well when Starks went down.

The Steelers have 36-year-old Flozell Adams(notes) on the roster, but his age and
$5 million salary could be an issue for a team trying to get under the cap.

Players were trickling into their dorm rooms at St. Vincent College on
Thursday in preparation for a conditioning test in the afternoon. The team’s
first practice is scheduled for Friday and the Steelers open the preseason on
Aug. 12 at Washington.

LATROBE, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Steelers cut versatile wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and tackle Max Starks on Thursday, the start of what could be a significant roster overhaul.

Players arrived for the start of training camp Thursday with the team more than $10 million over the $120.4 million salary cap.

Randle El, a college quarterback at Indiana who became a receiver in the NFL, threw a touchdown pass to Hines Ward to clinch Pittsburgh’s win over Seattle in the 2006 Super Bowl. He parlayed his Super Bowl success into a lucrative contract with the Redskins, but struggled in four seasons in Washington before returning to Pittsburgh in 2010.

He failed to make a significant impact, posting career lows in receptions (22) and yards (253) as his playing time diminished following the rise of wide receiver Mike Wallace.

Starks was drafted by the Steelers in the third round (75th overall) in 2004. He started 68 games in his seven seasons in Pittsburgh, including seven in 2010 before being placed on injured reserve with a neck problem. Starks started two Super Bowls for the Steelers but underwent neck surgery last year, leaving his future cloudy.

Starks’ departure leaves the Steelers thin — at least for the moment — at offensive tackle. The team is looking to re-sign veteran Willie Colon, who missed the 2010 season due to injury. The Steelers are also looking at Jonathan Scott, who played well when Starks went down.

The Steelers have 36-year-old Flozell Adams on the roster, but his age and $5 million salary could be an issue for a team trying to get under the cap.

Players were trickling into their dorm rooms at St. Vincent College on Thursday in preparation for a conditioning test in the afternoon. The team’s first practice is scheduled for Friday and the Steelers open the preseason on Aug. 12 at Washington.

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