NFL checks into whether Pittsburgh Steelers hid Le'Veon Bell's injury

The NFL is investigating whether the Pittsburgh Steelers withheld divulging running back Le'Veon Bell's groin injury from injury reports, according to multiple reports.

Bell rushed six times for 20 yards during the Steelers' AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots. After the game, Bell admitted to reporters that he has been managing a groin injury for "a couple weeks" and aggravated it against the Patriots.

Bell was listed with a "not injury related" designation on consecutive Wednesdays off during the playoffs, with coach Mike Tomlin noting that the running back had an excused absence on Jan. 19.

Tomlin admitted during his season-ending news conference on Tuesday that Bell managed the injury and averted missing practice time.

"I was aware of it," Tomlin said about Bell's injury. "But it wasn't significant to the point where it affected planning or the anticipation of planning in any way. It was unfortunate that it became an issue in-game. But it wasn't something that was on our radar from that perspective. ... I can go down a myriad of other people that have similar things they were working to manage."

Tomlin finds himself in a similar situation as Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who failed to report cornerback Richard Sherman's MCL injury during the second half of the season. Seattle could lose a draft pick as a repeat offender.