Dec 17, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (26) picks up fourth quarter yards against the New England Patriots at Heinz Field. The Patriots won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

One Change Would've Kept Le'Veon Bell With Steelers

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Mar 20, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Looking back on how his stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers concluded, Le'Veon Bell believes there's a world in which he could've remained with the team.

While appearing on Netflix's "The White House" podcast with Michael Irvin and Brandon Marshall, Bell stated that he doesn't think the Steelers wanted his contract dispute in 2018 to result in him sticking around, though the three-time Pro Bowler doesn't think that would've been the case if Omar Khan were calling the shots.

"I feel like they didn't want it to work," Bell said. "At the time, it was Kevin Colbert, I think the GM now, Omar Khan, if the exact situation happened again, I think it gets done. I think the deal gets done, Killer Bs is still there... the GM at the time and my agent, they had a [problem]."

Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Bell's Exit from Pittsburgh

Bell was one of the NFL's top running backs throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, rushing for 5,336 yards and 35 touchdowns while hauling in 312 passes for 2,660 yards and seven scores in 62 total games.

The 2013 second-round pick formed one of the more recognizable and dangerous offensive trios in recent memory, which was dubbed the "Killer B's" as mentioned above, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown.

After playing on the franchise tag in 2017, however, Bell put his foot down and refused to sign it leading into the 2018 campaign.

He'd stay true to his word, failing to report to the Steelers by the deadline for him to play on the tender that November, meaning he went on to miss the whole season while James Conner earned a Pro Bowl nod in his place.

Bell then signed a four-year contract worth $52.5 million as a free agent with the New York Jets in March 2019 after Colbert and Pittsburgh refused to place another franchise tag on him, though he spent just one year with them before spending the last two seasons of his career between the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Should Steelers Have Kept Bell?

At the time that he signed with the Jets, Bell's average annual value of $13.13 million ranked second among running backs behind Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams at $14.37 million.

Paying running backs has always been a somewhat tricky slope, and with negotiations seemingly never going well between the two sides, it wasn't a huge surprise that the Steelers and Bell never came to terms.

That outcome also aged well for Pittsburgh considering Bell was cut by New York one year into his deal and only logged a total of 1,847 scrimmage yards after leaving the Steelers.

It's a shame that the organization was never able to make it to a Super Bowl, let alone win one, with Bell, Roethlisberger and Brown all on the same offense, but opting not to sustain that trio was a smart decision in the long run.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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