Ben Roethlisberger Speaks Out on Le'Veon Bell Not Reporting to the Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are fewer than 96 hours from their season opener against the Cleveland Browns, but star running back Le’Veon Bell is still nowhere to be found.
Bell has not reported to team headquarters to sign his franchise tag and begin preparation for the Browns. Wednesday is the day when teams begin installing their week-specific game plans, and Pittsburgh will have to do so without the three-time Pro Bowler.
No one in the Steelers organization seems to know when Bell will report, and that includes the person who hands the ball off to him, Ben Roethlisberger.
“I have no idea,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told reporters Wednesday when asked when he thought Bell would show up. “My guess is as good as yours.”
Ben Roethlisberger on LeVeon Bell absence. @TheAthleticPGH pic.twitter.com/s6UjcmNI68
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 5, 2018
Since Bell has not signed his franchise tag, he is not under contract and the Steelers can’t fine him for his absence. If he were to skip out on regular season games, however, he would forfeit his $850,000 game paycheck for each week that he missed.
Bell accounted for 34 percent of the Steelers’ yards from scrimmage in the 15 games in which he played last season, but Roethlisberger said the team’s offensive success hinges on more than one player.
“I think we’re a very good offense,” he said. “Football is the ultimate team sport. One person doesn’t make or break you, so I’d like to say that the linemen are more important than any skill position player, including myself, on this team. This offense is more than just one guy.”
With his next game, Roethlisberger will tie Donnie Shell for the third-most games played in franchise history, and he’s been around long enough to not let Bell’s absence become a distraction.
“I have been doing this long enough that I just let (the myriad questions about Bell) roll off my back. Other guys it might be bothering them and whatnot. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for James (Conner) and other backs to get a lot of reps and for us to get a feel for them as well.”
Conner was a third-round rookie last year and struggled in his first season. But he looked much improved during spring workouts and was solid during preseason.
Bell was in a similar position last year as he also had the franchise tag applied to him when he was searching for a long-term deal.
But last season Bell reported to the team the day after the final preseason game to sign his contract. That gave him a full week to prepare for the season opener, in which he ran for 32 yards on 10 carries.
While Bell has remained mum on if and when he might show up, his agent said something that is likely to worry Steelers fans and Le’Veon Bell fantasy football owners.
LeVeon Bell agent paints the picture to @SiriusXMNFL that his client is out to preserve his body for next year’s free agency. Wouldn’t say when he’d show but did say (paraphrase) “he will be there when he gets there” @TheAthleticPGH
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 5, 2018
It seems fait accompli that this will be Bell’s last season in Pittsburgh as he looks to cash in on a big contract next year with another team. That worked for Kirk Cousins after he was tagged in consecutive years but Cousins plays a position in which it isn’t a bad thing to be 30 years old.
Bell will turn 27 in a few months and he may not get the big contract offers he was hoping for when he and his agent concocted the plan to “preserve his body.”
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