Did Steelers break NFL rule not reporting Ben Roethlisberger shoulder injury?

The Pittsburgh Steelers openly said early into the first half of the NFL season that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dealt with a left pectoral injury and, later, "some hip issues." As Myles Simmons noted for Pro Football Talk, though, Roethlisberger was recently on the official injury report with a right shoulder problem. 

Roethlisberger admitted that setback initially occurred around Week 2 or Week 3 in September.

"We just don’t tell y’all everything," Roethlisberger added on Wednesday. 

While it's understandable teams want to withhold as much information from opponents as possible, failing to report Roethlisberger's shoulder setback could be deemed a violation of league rules regarding the disclosure of such injuries. 

"Club personnel are responsible for reporting in-game injury information factually and accurately as soon as possible for the benefit of the network television audience and the other media covering our games," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via email in September after the Las Vegas Raiders were allegedly caught failing to announce that quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered an injury during a game. 

"To ensure fans in the stadium have access to the same information, these injury updates must also be posted on the stadium video boards, scoreboards or ribbon boards. The in-game injury updates must be disseminated simultaneously to all parties — the network television broadcaster, the media in the press box and the fans in the stadium. . . . In-game injury announcements to the media must be specific to a body part, accurate, and updated as warranted, including any changes to the player’s status for the remainder of the game if his status changes after the initial report."

Teams offering truthful information about injuries as soon as possible has become even more vital within NFL circles due to the spread of legalized gambling throughout the United States and also because of league partnerships with wagering companies. 

Interestingly, the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin were both hit with fines two years ago for not accurately listing that Roethlisberger had an elbow injury earlier in the 2019 season, per Jeremy Bergman of the league's website. 

Sometimes, history really does repeat itself.