Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell hasn’t played a snap since the 2021 season, but the former All-Pro is preparing to make a comeback. Bell, a second-round pick for Pittsburgh in 2013, hinted that if he was to get back in shape and return to an NFL team, he’d want to do it for one team in particular.
“I won’t start training until like March,” Bell said on social media this week. “And I’m gonna be honest with myself, I got to go out there and be like, I’m going to put my foot in the ground. Do I feel it? Am I hurting? Can I go out there and really play again? And bro, I’m telling you all right now when I go out there and train in March and if I hit April and I make this decision to come back to play in the NFL again, mark my words down — I will be better than I ever was.
“And I will only come back for that one team. You all know who it is. I don’t have to say no team. You all know who it is.”
Bell has already made it clear that when he officially retires, he’d like it to be with the Steelers.
“The day when I do retire, it is going to be with Pittsburgh,” Bell told the Steel Here podcast last May. “Before I do that, I may be like, ‘Hey, let me get a couple of carries in the preseason so I can show y’all something.’”
Bell regrets leaving Pittsburgh
In December, Bell showed up at the Pittsburgh Steelers training facility where he spent some one-on-one time with Tomlin. He opened up about their relationship, even lamenting that he chose to leave when he did.
“… It’s crazy,” he said. “We and Coach T bro, we still like this (close to each other). I was tripping, bro. Damn was I tripping. Why did y’all not tell me not to leave?”
Going back to 2018, the Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bell, offering him $14.5 million for that season. However, as a star, the running back wanted a contract with fully guaranteed money. He stood firmly behind that desire and refused to sign the offer. The negotiations went past a November deadline, which made him ineligible to play for the rest of the season, whether he signed the offer or not.
Bell was then a free agent in 2019, signing with the Jets. The contract numbers were big — $52 million over four years, with $27 million guaranteed. But for whatever reason, Bell’s career nose-dived. He gained 789 yards with the Jets in 2019. He also caught 66 passes for 461 yards.
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