Ben_STL

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is questioning the legality of a tackle from St. Louis Rams S Mark Barron that caused a deep bone bruise and grade 2 MCL sprain in his Pro Bowl knee.

He told Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the hit “could have been” called as a penalty, but he doesn’t think Barron’s tackle was a dirty play.

The legality of the play ... discussed, and an interpretation of the current rules would seem to indicate that Barron’s tackle, although clearly incidental, was still a violation of a league rule adopted after Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 of the 2007 season.

The injury will cost Roethlisberger over a month of game action based on his initial four to six week recovery timetable (although neither he nor head coach Mike Tomlin are ready to place a timetable of their own on the injury), but the two-time Super Bowl champion isn’t harboring any stale feelings or ill will towards Barron.