Did The Pittsburgh Steelers Know About Ben Roethlisberger Ribs

Ben Roethlisberger Now that the dust has settled from the big game and the Pittsburgh Steelers have their sixth Super Bowl Championship under their belt, there is some questions about whether the team violated leagues rules concerning Ben Roethlisberger's rib injury.

The questions were raised when an MRI taken a day after Super Bowl XLIII revealed the Steelers signal caller had two broken ribs. However, the NFL has now said that the Steelers were not in violation of league rules when they failed to list Roethlisberger on the injury report during Super Bowl week.

According to league rules, teams are required to report injured players after each practice. The league requires teams to report injured players after each practice. There are four designations: probable (75% chance of playing); questionable (50% chance) doubtful (25% chance); and out, which means the player is not expected to play.

Roethlisberger didn't look particularly affected by any injury during the game. He was consistent throughout and finished the game completing 21-of-30 passes for 256 yards.

"Luckily, in the game, I didn't take any big hits to make 'em hurt," Roethlisberger said. "But I knew all along there was something wrong. There wouldn't have been anything that could have been done about fractured ribs anyway."

There does not seem to be any question about trickery or deception going on. There was never any question on whether or not Roethlisberger was going to play.

"Ben's injury was disclosed in the required injury report the week prior to the team going to Tampa for the Super Bowl," said league spokesman Greg Aiello. "He was listed throughout that week with a back injury."

Aiello went on to say that Roethlisberger's full participation in practice along with his participation in the game was the reasoning for his omission from the injury report.