Le’Veon Bell is unlikely to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers by the designated deadline on Tuesday, multiple sources have told ESPN. This would make him ineligible for the rest of the season.
According to ESPN, that’s what came to pass: Bell failed to report to Pittsburgh Steelers headquarters. “I want to confirm that Le’Veon Bell did not sign his Franchise Tender today and, as a result, he will not be eligible to play football during the 2018 season,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement published by ESPN.
The deadline, which maintains that Bell must report to the Steelers by 4 PM ET, has not been met with any indication by Bell or his team that he plans to report. Still, Steelers president Art Rooney II has maintained his belief that Bell will report, in spite of the fact that Bell has missed ten straight weeks of play, forfeiting $8.5 million in earnings so far.
Rooney said to Sirius XM radio, “I don’t know what his plans are, but I would say that at this point we expect him to come back next week. We know he’s back in Pittsburgh, so we’re hoping to have some communications with him over the weekend. We’re kind of expecting he’ll be back next week.”
More on the Tuesday deadline being likely to pass without Le’Veon Bell reporting, which would make him ineligible to play this season, sources tell ESPN.