PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Steelers named Charlie Batch the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving the long-time backup the nod over recently re-signed Byron Leftwich.
Batch takes over for Dennis Dixon, who started the first two games but underwent knee surgery earlier on Wednesday after sustaining torn cartilage in Sunday's 19-11 win at Tennessee.
Leftwich, who was re-signed by the Steelers on Monday, two days after he was released, is still recovering from a sprained left knee that occurred during the pre-season.
The 35-year-old Batch will be making his first start since 2007 as Pittsburgh (2-0) awaits the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the regular season.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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