Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell injured a groin during a wild-card win over the Dolphins. The injury wasn’t deemed sufficiently significant to be disclosed by the team before either the team’s next two playoff games. It ultimately was, however, sufficiently significant to require surgery.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, who reported on February 22 that Bell “would’ve had [surgery] by now if necessary,” reports that Bell finally had surgery this morning.
The tip apparently came from Bell’s decision to send out via Snapchat photos of himself in a hospital bed early Monday.
Bell, who had the exclusive franchise tag applied to him in late February, has not yet signed the one-year tender worth more than $12 million. The Steelers apparently have no qualms about the potential impact of the procedure on his effectiveness for 2017; otherwise, they either would have not applied the tender or they would have removed it by now.