Getty Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell
The news so many fantasy football owners have been anxiously waiting on when it comes to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is here. Sort of. After four painful weeks of leaving Bell on your bench, we now know when one of the league’s best backs will return to the field.
Unfortunately, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed, it won’t be until the Week 7 bye.
Le’Veon Bell expects to report to the Steelers during the Week 7 bye, a source told @ESPN. Bell definitely plans to play football for the Steelers this season.
Obviously, there’s a mixture of good and bad here for fantasy owners, but it’s not as cut-and-dry as it seems on the surface. While Bell is opting to sit out two more weeks, it means fantasy owners will roll out a disgruntled player in Week 8 for the home stretch of their fantasy season.
So now comes the big question, should you consider trading Bell with the news that he’s back? It’s a very real conversation to debate.
Possibly Trading Le’Veon Bell in Fantasy Football
I know, I know. You held Bell for the past four weeks and now you just want to get him in the lineup and have him produce and dominate. Well, let’s not forget that he just witnessed Seahawks safety Earl Thomas suffer a broken leg after reporting without a new deal, which probably isn’t something Bell loved seeing.
Personally, the concern level of Bell just trying to make it through the rest of this season in order to get paid is high for me. The Steelers need to inject some life into their offense, but if you can get extreme value for Bell before he even touches the field in 2018, I’d consider taking it.
The deal would have to be big to persuade me, but if Bell doesn’t get dealt, I’m curious how his teammates will respond to his return. We saw multiple offensive linemen offer negative responses to Bell’s holdout, and that won’t just disappear when he arrives after six weeks.
Bell’s Upside
On the opposite side of things, if you don’t need to trade Bell currently in order to save your fantasy season, he could prove to be the missing piece to a title run. Obviously, fantasy owners who have made it this far with their first-round pick sidelined have done a nice job.
Assuming you’re confident enough in Bell’s return going over fine in the Steelers locker room, then holding Bell is fine. But right now, with the hype and excitement surrounding his potential comeback, it’d be understandable if you wanted to swing a deal and load up your roster with two immediate playmakers.
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