The Pittsburgh Steelers had five players voted to the Pro Bowl this season and as of Monday, it looks like two of the them won’t be playing in the NFL annual all-star game.
Running back Le’Veon Bell is almost certain to not play in this year’s Pro Bowl due to a groin injury that ultimately knocked him out of the Steelers AFC Conference Championship game against the New England Patriots in the first quarter.
Bell told the media after the game that he knew during warmups that he wasn’t close to being 100 percent and suggested his injury is one that he’s been dealing with for a couple of weeks.
“I’m not really sure what caused it,” Bell said Sunday night. “Just over the course of time, I’ve been hurting. I haven’t been really telling people how I really felt. Came into the game today and really let my teammates down because I couldn’t go. I’ve been out there fighting through, fighting through and I couldn’t go today, so it sucked.”
In addition to Bell missing the Pro Bowl, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday that he is planning on backing out of the all-star game as well.
As for the Steelers other three Pro Bowl selections, wide receiver Antonio Brown, center Maurkice Pouncey and guard David DeCastro, it appears as though all three are still on track to play in the Jan. 29 game that will take place this year in Orlando, Fla. Per Bouchette, DeCastro said Monday he will indeed make the trip to Florida.
UPDATE: Pouncey has now indicated that he will also skip the Pro Bowl. Additionally, it was announced that Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has been added to the Pro Bowl as he will replace Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley.
