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Last month Pittsburgh Steelers legend Le’Veon Bell toyed with the notion of returning to his former team to show he still has it. Now, he’s apologizing to Steelers fans for abandoning them.
“I never apologized to the fans for really sitting out or leaving the Steelers,” Bell admitted. “I never apologized. So, I’m gonna say I apologize for leaving the best damn fans there is in this damn world. I shouldn’t have left. I apologize. That’s my fault. That’s on me.”
After the video was shared on Twitter, Bell retweeted it with the message, “It’s all love.”
it’s all love 🖤💛🐝
His words are a bit of a surprise, considering how self-entitled he acted after leaving the Steelers and his fans. But too little, too late — five years late, in fact. Though some fans had already forgiven Bell for his transgressions, many would rather he “shut the hell up.”
Who Bell should be apologizing to is himself. He left a lucrative five-year, $70 million contract that would’ve made him (albeit briefly) the highest-paid running back in the NFL. The $14 million average per year deal fell one million short of Bell’s desired $15 million. He revealed the sticking point was the guaranteed portion. At the time, Pittsburgh had a steadfast policy of not offering future guarantees in veteran deals, and the only fully guaranteed money in that proposal was a $10 million signing bonus, per Sports Illustrated.
Instead, he left Pittsburgh after sitting out the entire 2018 season. He never earned what he thought he deserved from any of the four teams he played with after he left Pittsburgh (New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers). He joined the Jets in 2019 on a four-year, $52.5 million deal. Though the average per year was short of the Steelers’ offer, half was guaranteed — a record for running backs — money that no other team but New York was offering.
Bell remains the Steelers’ fourth all-time leading rusher (5,336 yards) and third-highest in rushing touchdowns (35). After Pittsburgh, he contributed 1,218 rushing yards and seven touchdowns with four different clubs over three seasons.
With Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren Steelers’ Backfield Doesn’t Need Le’Veon Bell
The Pittsburgh Steelers have forever been known as a ground-and-pound offense. Though James Conner scored more touchdowns than Le’Veon Bell ever did in the Black and Gold, he couldn’t come close to his yards production. Conner was Pittsburgh’s bell cow (973 yards, 12 touchdowns) during Bell’s 2018 contract dispute and in the two years that followed his departure. While there’ll never be another back like Bell, Najee Harris is coming into his own.
The newly-crafted offensive line and second-year undrafted free agent Jaylen Warren should help Harris to top his career 1,200-yard first year. There’s no individual player more significant to a running back than a solid backup. Unlike his rookie season, he finally has that. In 2021, Harris averaged 22.4 touches per game, finishing the season with a league-high 381.
This season, he has a more experienced, young quarterback in Kenny Pickett, who has a plethora of weapons at his disposal, including both backs who have shown to be more than capable pass-catchers.
So, although Bell relishes the thought of returning to Pittsburgh to prove something, the Steelers are just fine without him.