The Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Le’Veon Bell failed to reach a long-term deal ahead of Monday’s deadline, and his agent stated afterward that it’s likely the running back will never play in Pittsburgh again after this coming season.
Afterward, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert issued the following statement.
Statement from GM Kevin Colbert on Le’Veon Bell: pic.twitter.com/APTMajqdbF
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 16, 2018
Not long after that, Bell shared a statement of his own, stating that “2018 will be my best season to date.”
to all my Steeler fans, my desire always has been to retire a Steeler…both sides worked extremely hard today to make that happen, but the NFL is a hard business at times…to the fans that had hope, I’m sorry we let youu down but trust me, 2018 will be my best season to date…
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) July 16, 2018
Bell has put together some phenomenal seasons in the past, including his 2014 campaign in which he totaled 2,215 yards and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage. Needless to say, he has his work cut out to outdo himself here.
This statement also suggests that Bell will not sit out half the season as it had been reported earlier on Monday.
Likely, he’ll stay away from the Steelers until the start of the season like he did last year. Considering he gained 1,946 yards and 11 touchdowns, despite missing a game, that shouldn’t be a big problem.