Getty Le'Veon Bell
Maybe Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was just kidding? After making it known that he’d return during the team’s bye week (or around then), that time has now come. But when Monday meetings rolled around and the players began work for the week, it seems Bell was nowhere to be found.
As Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network revealed, the All-Pro back wasn’t in attendance for the start of the day.
#Steelers starting to get into HQ this morning after yesterday’s big win. One player just messaged me: No sign of RB Le’Veon Bell.
Players meet today, practice Tuesday and Wednesday and are then off until next Monday. The watch continues…
Obviously, this doesn’t mean a whole lot just yet, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed Bell was planning to return “during the Week 7-8 time frame.” It seems most just expected this to come at the start of the week and for Bell to be back with the team preparing for the homestretch of the season.
But as we’ve seen with the Steelers running back so many times, we probably shouldn’t assume things.
Le’Veon Bell’s Comments on Return
During an exclusive interview with ESPN and Jeremy Fowler, Bell opened up on his holdout and the potential return. In the story, Fowler reported the running back was expected to be ready for Week 8, but that he would decide “how much practice time he needs accordingly.”
“I miss football,” Bell said. “When I do get back, I plan to give it my all. I still do want to go out there and win a Super Bowl with the Steelers.”
“It sucks having to sit out football,” Bell said by telephone from South Florida on Monday. “I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs.
Although Bell spoke like a player ready for a return, his absence at the start of yet another week points to him pushing this back just a bit longer, at least. Time will tell, but as things stand, there’s been no update from either the player or the team, leaving little reason for much optimism right now.
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