Big Ben says he doesn't have concussion, Mike Tomlin says he does

The Pittsburgh Steelers need to get their stories straight.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesn't think he has a concussion despite self-reporting one in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks. His coach, Mike Tomlin, says Roethlisberger did indeed suffer one and remains in the league's concussion protocol.

Confused?

Roethlisberger was suffering symptoms consistent with a concussion — including blurry peripheral vision — late in the Seahawks game, taking himself out of the game about nine plays after a big hit from the Seahawks' Michael Bennett in the final minutes of the game. But Roethlisberger said he suffered instead from a traumatic ocular migraine.

It doesn't behoove Roethlisberger to lie about his diagnosis. Nor does it help Tomlin to lie on his behalf, although the coach might be taking extra measures to make sure his quarterback is fully cleared from any concussion-like symptoms and adhere to league-mandated procedures once he was entered into the concussion protocol.

So which one is it? We don't know. Roethlisberger might have thought he passed his initial concussion testing — he said he thought he "aced" it — but there frequently are delayed aftereffects related to concussons that can fail to present themselves initially. It's also possible that either Ben or Tomlin got bad or old information before meeting with media.

We shall see if there's clarity as the week goes on. The Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts, and Roethlisberger said he expects to play.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm