Report: Steelers' Rooney will not attend league meeting due to illness

Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney will not attend the annual league meeting as he recovers from a recent illness, NFL Network's Judy Battista reports.

The Steelers haven't announced whether Art Rooney will take his father's place at the meeting.

Rooney isn't the only owner to pull out of the meetings, as Panthers owner Jerry Richardson will not attend, citing difficulties with travelling to the West Coast. The meetings, which begin Monday, are taking place in Phoenix.

Art Rooney spoke about a rule change that will attempt to speed up the pace of the game on Friday.

"I think we have identified ways to cut out, sort of unnecessary downtime, in the little nooks and crannies in the game, without really impacting the game itself or the number of plays, anything like that. The object is not to change the number of plays in the game or dramatically change the time of the game. It’s really an effort to try to streamline the game and make it feel less choppy, both in the stadium and at home," Rooney said.