Le’Veon Bell will return to the Steelers…but not right away. The Steelers’ star rusher plans to report to the team during it’s Week 7 bye, putting him in position to make his debut in Week 8 against the Browns.
Of course, nothing can be that cut and dry when it comes to the messy situation between Bell and the Steelers. The Steelers are expected to still field trade offers for the running back between now and the Oct. 31 deadline, so it’s not a given that he’ll be back in black and yellow.
Here’s what Bell has to say about his absence and planned return:
- Bell’s exact reporting day is still unclear, but he plans to be ready for Oct. 28 against the Browns and will decide how many practices he needs based on that, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Bell added that he’s in great shape and could play “tomorrow,” if needed. Be that as it may, the Steelers probably aren’t too enthusiastic about Bell dictating his own practice schedule.
- The running back says that sitting out the entire season was never an option (via Fowler). “It sucks having to sit out football,” Bell said. “I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs. But I’ve gotta take this stand. Knowing my worth and knowing I can tear a ligament or get surgery at any time, I knew I couldn’t play 16 games with 400 or more touches.”
- Looking ahead to March, Bell speculated that the Jets, 49ers, Colts, Browns and Eagles would be among the teams interested in his services, though he says he’d want to join a club that values his skill set and winning. “I know the guaranteed money will be there [in March],” Bell said. “If a team wanted to, they could definitely do what they needed to do to make me happy and satisfied.“
This guy is a joke!!!
He made less than 4M over 4 years as basically the best back in the league. Then they wanted to go year to year with him like Cousins, except Cousins is middle of the road at best and Bell is Top 1 or 2 at his position. It’s not like he can say whatever I’ll go to the CFL. Theres only one real league.
Z-A spitting more facts than someone using letters beyond A-Z could ever hope to accomplish in 3 sentences.
And how much of those seasons did Bell really play with suspensions and such? The Steelers made him a legit offer that he turned down because he wants to break the bank. If he hadn’t already proven his inconsistent character, Bell might have have convinced the team. Let your team invest that much money in him and see if he actually earns it.
Since he made his debut in 2013 he’s been suspended for a whopping total of 3 games. Not saying that’s nothing but let’s not like him getting suspended all the time is a major issue here.
Act like*
He turned down two contracts that would have made the highest paid st the time! He is the best back in football but he is not the whole team.
I could swore at one point Bell told his teammates he’d be back the week before the regular season started
That’s what the grapevine has said, but that’s never been directly confirmed or denied. You might be right, but we’ll probably never know for sure. If Bell didn’t directly tell his teammates he would be there before Week 1, a lot of them certainly got that impression somehow, maybe from his agent.
He can say whatever he wants, but he won’t be playing in Pittsburgh after this stunt. He’s either: a) getting traded. b) signing his tag and being benched the remainder of 2018 and getting transition tagged in 2019, or c) having his tag rescinded right before the bye week.
He overplayed his hand and really hurt himself.
ok
You should be a GM
If he signs the tag and is not trade the Steelers will not just let him sit on the bench. If that was their logic they would’ve just pulled the tag. When he shows up he’s going to get 30+ touches
I expect him to get 40+ touches per game.
agreed
He’s getting zero touches. Frankly, the Steelers season is almost over and they will either pull out a miracle with the guys that have got them there so far, or will tank hard for that Top 5/10 draft pick. Playing Bell is not going to happen.
A team with 2 losing seasons since the early 90s has no intention of tanking. Make the playoffs and see what happens. And I promise you, they will make the playoffs… Again, as almost Always.
Then you’re delusional, if he is allowed to sign the franchise tag and he is not traded then he is going to play, the Steelers are not going to pay him to sit on the bench
Where are all of the “They Don’t need Bell” crowd? All the fans that inducted Conner into the HOF after ONE game? I wonder how AB feels about that Safety over top every play, cause don’t don’t have to worry about Bell?
The real problem for AB is the new offensive coordinator. He clearly wants to push the ball downfield more. Give Ben the a
I don’t expect Bell to ever report to the team. Everyone knows the marriage is over. Whatever offer might have once been on the table is long gone. The front office hates him, his teammates hate him, the fans hate him. What could possibly motivate him to come back to that kind of situation? His bluff was called and now he needs to move on.
So… if he doesn’t report then he can’t become a free agent next year, so you just posted bunch of Fake News as facts. I bet it felt good to type all that though