Notes

Friday, December 7, 2012

— STEELERS

Roethlisberger padded

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t taking any chances with their franchise quarterback’s sprained right shoulder and dislocated rib.

Ben Roethlisberger will return to the starting lineup on Sunday against San Diego after missing three weeks because of injury, but the Steelers said Roethlisberger will take the field with a little extra protection.

Roethlisberger will play with a custom fit rib/chest compression shirt and a layer of Kevlar-lined composite in his shoulder pads to help absorb hits to his clavicle and shoulder joint regions.

The padding, made by Unequal Technologies, has grown popular across the NFL. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick wore a similar compression shirt after injuring his ribs a few years ago and dozens of players - including Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison - use Unequal CRT in their helmets.

The padding - about a half-inch thick- in Roethlisberger’s shoulder pads is similar to the gear the company puts in its chest protectors for baseball catchers. Roethlisberger said last week his shoulder pads had been “juiced up” by the team trainers.

Whatever he’s wearing, the Steelers (7-5) are eager to have him back on the field. Roethlisberger took “90 percent” of the first-team snaps on Thursday without any major issues.

“He looks like himself for the most part,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “Now I don’t know what he’s feeling when he’s doing some of those things. But it looks like he’s moving around pretty good.”

Roethlisberger said he felt “good” but declined further comment. Haley doesn’t expect there to be any limitations to the playbook though he joked he might not call as many designed run plays for his quarterback, who never met a play he didn’t like to extend.

“I think he understands his body better than anybody,” Haley said. “He’s the one that’s got to make the decisions and we’ll just try to put him in the best positions to succeed.”VIKINGS Harvin moved for injury

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - The decision by the Minnesota Vikings to place Percy Harvin on season-ending injured reserve, Coach Leslie Frazier said, was based “purely” on his slow-healing sprained left ankle and not any issue with a uniquely valuable player who has had clashes with the team.

Frazier declined to be more specific about the injury, which occurred in the third quarter of the Nov. 4 game at Seattle. Even severe sprains don’t normally require two months to recover from, but by shelving him now the Vikings declared they wouldn’t get Harvin back at full strengthin time to warrant keeping him on the active roster.

“For him as well as our team, this is the best thing to do as opposed to continuing to try to make something happen that’s not going to happen,” Frazier said after practice Thursday. “He’s such a valuable commodity. You don’t want to do anything that’s going to create some long-term ill effects.”

Harvin hasn’t been available to reporters for two weeks.

“It certainly is disappointing that I was not able to finish out this season with my teammates. As a competitor I definitely wanted to get back out on the field, but my injury has just not allowed me to progress to the point where I can help our team,” Harvin said in a statement distributed by the Vikings.

Frazier said Harvin shouldn’t need surgery.

NFL Raiders’ funding mulled

OAKLAND, Calif. - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is willing to contribute funding to help build a stadium in Oakland to keep the Raiders in town.

Goodell spoke Thursday night after a ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He said having a more modern stadium is crucial because that is the stage on which the league presents its games. He said the league could contribute up to $200 million to help fund a project if the Raiders and local officials agree on adeal. Goodell also said it is up to the Raiders and 49ers whether they want to share the new stadium the 49ers are building in Santa Clara.

“It’s our stage. It’s part of where we present our game. It’s the biggest part,” Goodell said. “It’s also really important to the fan experience. Having full stadiums is critical for us. We want to have our fans in the stadium, we want to make sure they have the best facilities, we want to make sure the teams can generate enough revenue to be successful and competitive.”BILLS Hairston to IR

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Chris Hairston has been placed on injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season with a bone injury in his right ankle.

Bills Coach Chan Gailey will shuffle his line, and use rookie David Snow and veteran Sam Young at times to replace Hairston, 23, a 6-6, 330-pound right tackle out of Clemson.

The Bills (5-7) have made three roster moves this week to accommodate their injury problems. Defensive end Chris Kelsay was also put on injured reserve and linebacker Kirk Morrison was released. Hairston’s move comes at a difficult time. Erik Pears, the team’s top right tackle, has been out since Nov. 6, and is also lost for the season with a hip issue.

Buffalo signed Chris Scott off the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad to the fill the roster vacancy.

THURSDAY’S GAME Denver 26, Oakland 13 SUNDAY’S GAMES All times Central Chicago at Minnesota, noon Baltimore at Washington, noon Kansas City at Cleveland, noon San Diego at Pittsburgh, noon Tennessee at Indianapolis, noon NY Jets at Jacksonville, noonAtlanta at Carolina, noon Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, noon St. Louis at Buffalo, noon Dallas at Cincinnati, noon Miami at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle, 3:25 p.m.

New Orleans at NY Giants, 3:25 p.m. Detroit at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m.

MONDAY’S GAME Houston at New England, 7:30 p.m.

Sports, Pages 26 on 12/07/2012