Le'Veon Bell Reportedly Hasn't Scheduled Groin Surgery

In what may be a positive sign in his recovery from a groin injury, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell has yet to schedule a surgical procedure to address the problem, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday.

Bell carried the ball six times for 20 yards in Pittsburgh's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. Bell told reporters he had injured his groin prior to the Jan. 22 defeat.

Bell said Jan. 31 on NFL Network's Good Morning Football (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra) he was looking into whether he required surgery: "I'm kind of in the process of seeing a couple of doctors, seeing if I have to get surgery or not. I'm hoping for the best, but I understand it's a tough game. If I don't get surgery, I go into the rehab process, work hard, get back to how I was last year, or actually, better. I'm going to take it from there."

Rapoport speculated Bell would've had the surgery were one required.

One situation regarding the groin injury, however, remains unresolved.

The Steelers broke league rules by failing to properly disclose the extent of Bell's groin problem on their official practice reports. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski reported the team described Bell's three absences from practice in the two weeks leading up to the AFC title game as "not injury related."

The Seattle Seahawks avoided punishment for a similar infraction with Richard Sherman, and league sources told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio the NFL may take the same approach with Pittsburgh.