Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since losing consciousness in Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. Maddox was released from the hospital on Tuesday after being diagnosed with a concussion of the head and spine.

"It's been an interesting couple of days," said Maddox, holding back tears during the press conference. "I'm very excited to be able to walk up here and talk to you all. It puts a lot of things in perspective. With that said, I'm anxious to see what I can do."

Maddox was taken from the field by ambulance after getting injured on the final play of the third quarter as he attempted to scramble out of the pocket. While falling to the ground and throwing the ball, he was hit high by Keith Bulluck in the upper back and was motionless on the field. Maddox was immobilized on a stretcher after a long delay and taken to Baptist Hospital.

"I don't remember the hit," he said. "I've been hit a lot harder. I've probably been hit a lot when it looked a lot worse. And that was my only question. Why this hit? But I don't know if they have an explanation for that."

Maddox spent Monday night in a Pittsburgh hospital after spending the night before at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Maddox's latest round of neurological tests Tuesday came back normal and doctors say he will need no other treatment other than time and rest to get over the psychological implications of the injury.

"It was hard. You think about your kids," he said. "My wife wanted to fly to Nashville. I was scared that if she left that the kids would be upset."

He also needs to allow his body time to recover from the massive amount of steroids he received on the way to the hospital Sunday. The steroids were used to help lessen the severity of the spinal cord injury.

"I feel good. I'm still a little weak," he said. "It actually feels good to get up and move around. We've got to take it one day at a time. I'm going to try real hard not to over-push myself. But I'm excited about the progress we've made in the last couple of days, and hopefully it will continue to go that way."

The former MVP of the now-defunct XFL, Maddox replaced Kordell Stewart, who had started 30 straight games for the Steelers, in week five. He turned around a struggling Pittsburgh offense with his play and threw for an astonishing 473 yards against Atlanta on November 10.

Stewart will start for Pittsburgh this week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Stewart came in for Maddox against the Titans. He completed 13 of his 17 passes for 124 yards and two scores to lead a late rally, but the comeback attempt came up short as the Steelers (5-4-1) lost for the first time in six weeks.

Maddox was drafted by Denver in 1992 (25th overall) after leaving college following his sophomore season at UCLA. He played four years in the NFL with the Broncos, Rams and Giants before getting back into the league with the Steelers last season.