Getty Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell
To this point, there’s been no clear-cut timeframe established for when Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell will end his holdout. The talented running back was originally expected to return at the start of Week 1 preparation on Monday but has remained a no-show. His status for the team’s opener against the Cleveland Browns seems doubtful at best, but there may be a silver lining.
As NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport recently revealed, it’s “looking like” Bell will report to the team on Saturday, but not play on Sunday.
“The best I can tell from the people involved in this, their estimate is, their guess, is that Bell will show up on Saturday. That is what it is looking like. He would be in the building, he would receive his $800,000-plus game check, not play Week 1 and then get ready for Week 2.” Rapoport stated.
Here’s a look at the full video of Rapoport’s comments:
Obviously, it seems most believe the 26-year-old running back will show up in order to make sure he’s not ruled ineligible for Sunday’s game. If that’s the case, it keeps Bell from missing out on a game check. Assuming things were to play out this way, it’s highly unlikely the disgruntled running back would play in the team’s opener. Instead, the bulk of the heavy lifting would fall on James Conner with rookie Jaylen Samuels potentially getting work as well.
The situation surrounding Bell’s holdout and handling of the buildup to the season hasn’t sat well with a few of his Steelers teammates, who offered strong thoughts on the decision. One player who seemed overly frustrated was guard Ramon Foster, as Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed.
More Ramon Foster on Bell: “He’s making 7 times what I make twice as much as Al (Villanueva) is making and we’re the guys who do it for him.”
On the other hand, Pittsburgh’s star wide receiver Antonio Brown showed support for Bell on social media. In a post on Instagram, Brown stated he’s “ready to roll” when Bell gets back.
Time will tell, but it remains to be seen exactly if and when the three-time Pro Bowl running back will report for the 2018 NFL season.