Le’Veon Bell says he’s making an NFL comeback, will only play for one team
Last July, former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell said he’d left the door open for a potential NFL comeback.
Six months later, it appears Bell is serious about his intentions to return to the league after stating as much in a series of videos he posted to Snapchat over the weekend.
“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,” Bell said. “…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.”
While Bell didn’t explicitly say that one team was the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was heavily implied. Last summer, the 31-year-old released a video on his social media pages apologizing to Steelers fans for leaving to join the New York Jets in 2019.
“I never apologized to the fans for sitting out, or leaving the Steelers,” Bell said. “I never apologized. So, I want to say I apologize for leaving the best damn fans there is in this damn world. I shouldn't have left. I apologize, I should never have left. I apologize. That's my fault. That's on me.”
Bell spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, rushing for 5,336 yards and 35 touchdowns while adding 312 receptions for 2,660 yards and seven more scores.
He set several franchise records including most single-game rushing yards during a regular-season game (236), most single-game rushing yards in a playoff game (170), most single-season scrimmage yards (2,215) and most single-season receiving yards by a running back (854).
Bell held out for the entire 2018 season before becoming a free agent and signing a four-year, $52.5M deal with the Jets. He lasted a little more than one season in New York, rushing for 863 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games before a nine-game stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, a five-game stint with the Baltimore Ravens and a three-game run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer — both in 2021.
Out of football since January 2022, Bell took up boxing, competing in one amateur fight against fellow former All-Pro RB Adrian Peterson in September 2022, which he won by fifth-round knockout.
He turned pro the following month but lost his debut fight to retired UFC fighter Uriah Hall via unanimous in October 2022 before rebounding to earn his first win over YouTuber JMX in April of last year via unanimous decision.
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