Ben Roethlisberger was limping toward the end of practice Wednesday after a teammate stepped on his left foot. Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin didn’t seem worried about his quarterback.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers didn’t offer any more information, and they didn’t appear concerned that Roethlisberger would be limited during practice Thursday or might not play in Saturday’s exhibition game against Green Bay.

Chukky Okobi, competing at center with former Tampa Bay lineman Sean Mahan, dropped to the turf in pain with an apparent back injury several minutes after Roethlisberger did. The team did not say if Okobi was injured.

Buccaneers

Mike Alstott walked off the field at the end of last season, wondering whether he had played his final NFL game. The veteran fullback’s role in Tampa Bay’s offense has diminished in recent years, so he wasn’t sure if he still fit into the Buccaneers plans – or even if he wanted to return for a 12th season.

The Bucs went 4-12 last season, the club’s worst finish since Alstott was a rookie in 1996, and the 33-year-old six-time Pro Bowler thinks he can help the team get back on track.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 7 years old, so I couldn’t imagine not being here right now. And, it’s going to be a hard transition sometime down the road when I decide not to be here.”

Broncos

Champ Bailey, owner of 19 interceptions over the last two seasons, is hard to impress. But the Denver defensive star is dazzled by second-year receiver Domenik Hixon, who missed his entire rookie season with a broken foot.

“I’ll tell you what, man, he’s a guy that we could have used last year,” Bailey said. “He’s got great ability, great talent. You wonder how it’s going to translate to games, but he looks good. He looks as good as most of our receivers. He has the ability to start. I just hope he fights for it.”

Giants

Veteran wide receiver Amani Toomer got a little surprise from coach Tom Coughlin – he’s not playing in the preseason opener against the Panthers.

Coming off the injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season, Toomer has been limited to one practice a day at training camp.