The Pittsburgh Steelers played the majority of the AFC Championship against the Patriots without running back Le’Veon Bell due to injury. Bell left the game in the first quarter, and tried to come back in the second quarter before ultimately staying on the bench.
NFL investigating the Steelers for Le’Veon Bell’s unreported groin injury
Bell never appeared on the injury report during the past few weeks.
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
As it turns out, the Steelers knew of the injury, but Mike Tomlin said that it “wasn’t significant” after the game. That apparently has come into question by the NFL, as Adam Schefter reports that they’re looking into whether the team failed to properly list Bell on the injury report.
Tomlin feeling that Bell’s injury wasn’t significant would pass the test on that, but Bell had missed practice time. Bell hadn’t been practicing on Wednesdays, and the Thursday before the AFC Championship, he didn’t for “personal reasons.” In regards to any of the practices he missed, none were designated for injury. That is what has led the NFL to look into the injury and lack of a report.
The NFL’s injury report policy requires teams to disclose “significant or noteworthy injuries” on practice reports, which was never done for Bell.
The NFL launched an investigation into an unreported injury by the Seahawks and cornerback Richard Sherman over a week ago. Sherman had missed Seahawks practices, but the reasoning was never given as his MCL injury.
A few days later, it was reported by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that the team could lose a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. It would be an elevation of the fifth-round pick they have already lost because of an OTA violation.
The evidence seems to show that the Steelers may have hidden it, but it’s also tough for the NFL to police all of the injuries that happen on a weekly basis.
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