LeVeon Bell slowly hobbled to and from the Steelers locker room on Monday, a little more than 12 hours after hyperextending his right knee in the third quarter of the Steelers' 27-17 AFC North-clinching win over Cincinnati.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Bell suffered no structural damage to the knee from the hit from Bengals safety Reggie Nelson, meaning there is a possibility that the Steelers team MVP could be ready to play Saturday night against Baltimore in a wild card playoff game.
“If he suffered no structural damage (ACL, PCL), then yes, he can play,” said Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, S.C. “He would just have to work through discomfort, stiffness and weakness.”
Geier said pain killers toradol and cortisone are popular treatments to allow players to get back on the field quickly after suffering injuries similar to Bell's.
The Steelers won't have an update on Bell's status until Tuesday, and Bell's agent, Adisi Bakari, did not return a message.
It's going to be a short week for Bell, so he has that working against him. But according to the doctor quoted in the story, it's just a matter of playing through any discomfort. The Ravens don't present a great matchup, ranked third in allowing fantasy points to RBs. Bell had a 10-20-0 line in Week 9 when the teams last met and then an 11-59-0 line back in Week 2.
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