Pittsburgh Steelers: Le'Veon Bell not expected to need offseason surgery

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, who was forced out of the AFC Championship Game because of a groin injury, is not expected to need offseason surgery.

Bell appears to have avoided an operation, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported Wednesday.

Bell made the rounds with the media during Super Bowl week, telling reporters he was still in the process of determining whether he would need surgery for the groin injury.

Bell has not scheduled surgery, which would have happened by now if necessary, according to Rapoport.

Bell rushed just six times for 20 yards during the Steelers' 36-17 loss in the AFC title game to the New England Patriots. After the game, Bell admitted to reporters that he managed the groin injury for "a couple weeks" and aggravated it against the Patriots.

"People don't understand I was kind of fighting that through the playoffs," Bell told NFL Network on Feb. 1. "I really hurt it in the Miami game. I played through the whole Kansas City game with it. The beginning of the Patriots game, I felt it."

The NFL is investigating whether the Steelers improperly withheld Bell's groin injury from injury reports during the playoffs.

The Steelers rode Bell to the playoffs in 2016, and now they are faced with trying to re-sign him. The franchise tag could be coming, with the deadline for that on March 1.

Bell set franchise single-game rushing-yardage records in the first two postseason games this season. He racked up 167 yards in a victory over Miami in the AFC wild-card round and bettered that with 170 in the victory over Kansas City in the divisional round.

The 25-year-old Bell rushed for 1,268 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season.