The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a run of bad luck in recent seasons with the health of early round draft picks, but the team dodged a bullet when it found out what really caused linebacker Jarvis Jones to leave the stadium on a stretcher following Saturday's preseason game.
It turned out that Jones suffered the same injury that many grade-school children endure on the playground: He had the wind knocked out of him, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"I got tackled from behind, fell on the ball, dude fell on me, knocked the air out of me," Jones said. "I don't know how many fell on top of me."
Jones, who will be held out of the Steelers' final preseason game, said team doctors decided to take him to the hospital to ensure there was no internal damage.
While the rookie won't have to deal with a nagging injury, he will have to take some heat from teammates.
"He's just going to hear from a lot of guys about how soft he is," said inside linebacker Larry Foote, one of many teammates who initially didn't think the injury was serious.
"It kind of scared me when I saw (the news) going across the TV," Foote added. "But I texted him, and he told me he was fine. I told him they don't make them how they used to make them."
Jones has been dynamic this preseason -- the injury occurred after he intercepted a pass -- and though the rookie might be ragged on by his elders, the veterans know he will play an essential role in the Steelers' success.
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