PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger may start his third consecutive preseason game Thursday for the Steelers, though he can’t be the starter when the season begins.

Byron Leftwich may get relegated to playing with the backups for the second game in a row, yet he’s almost certain to be the opening-day quarterback.

Charlie Batch clearly believes he’s the most qualified to play while Roethlisberger is suspended, yet there is no guarantee he will be on the team next week.

The Steelers’ unsettled preseason lurches to a conclusion Thursday night against Carolina, with the starters not expected to play much and coach Mike Tomlin still not saying who will start Sept. 12 against Atlanta.

The Steelers traded for Leftwich in April to steer them through Roethlisberger’s suspension, yet Tomlin is refusing to officially name him the starter.

Some Steelers are growing impatient with the lack of a formal declaration, including their most tenured offensive player.

“Right now, Ben’s our quarterback, but he’s not going to be around,” wide receiver Hines Ward said Tuesday. “That’s about all we know. Nobody knows who the starter is, the backup or even (who’s) making the team. Hopefully by Monday, we’ll have a starting quarterback.”

Although the choice seems obvious

– Dennis Dixon’s two-interception performance Sunday against Denver suggested he’s not ready to start – Ward said it would put the players’ minds at ease to know.

“It’s tough; there’s no question it’s tough,” Ward said. “It’s the first time in my 13 years here we haven’t had a legitimate starter named, especially by the fourth (preseason) game. We’re still going at it.”

In reality, the Steelers experienced similar confusion 10 years ago, when coach Bill Cowher didn’t name Kent Graham as the starter until after the fifth and final preseason game. Graham lasted for only three games, and three losses, before Kordell Stewart took over. The Steelers went 9-4 after that, but still missed the playoffs.

The Steelers reacquired Leftwich with the obvious intent of avoiding a bad start; he was the backup when they won the Super Bowl two seasons ago, and he knows their playbook and personnel. But he’s not seeing many of those players in the preseason.

Leftwich started Aug. 14 against Detroit and played into the second quarter. A week later, Roethlisberger started against the Giants, which meant Leftwich got minimal work with the regulars. In Denver, Leftwich followed both Roethlisberger and Dixon, which meant he was on the field with second-line players, rookies and free agents. Not surprisingly, he didn’t complete any of his four passes.

It seemed to be a curious way to get a quarterback ready to start a season, but Leftwich didn’t complain.

“I don’t think anybody understood how the situation would be handled (during camp),” Leftwich said. “It’s so unique, there was nothing we could go off, to follow somebody in the past, because it hasn’t really happened this way before. I think we all handled it well, and we all have been handling it well.”

If Roethlisberger starts against Carolina – he wants to take some snaps in the no-huddle offense – Leftwich might play with the backups again since the starters rarely play more than a few series in the final preseason game.

It will Roethlisberger’s last work with the Steelers until his suspension ends in October; he drew a six-game suspension in April, but commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to trim it to four games after the two meet Friday in New York.

The quarterback who’s been left out is Batch, a former Lions starter and the Steelers’ primary backup since 2002. Batch took nearly no snaps with the starters during camp, and his only preseason work has been mopping up late in games.

Batch has looked sharper than any quarterback except for Roethlisberger during his brief playing time, but he understands the Steelers won’t keep four quarterbacks once Roethlisberger is cleared to play.

Batch isn’t expected to have trouble landing a backup job somewhere should the Steelers let him go.

“All I know is there weren’t many reps to go around, and I was the one who was shorted,” Batch said. “Realistically, there weren’t many reps to go around. Yeah, it bothered you. ... If you don’t get any reps, that’s not good, the chances of making the team are very slim.”