Le’Veon Bell could face a four-game suspension from NFL

By Evan Massey | Mar 2, 2015

Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell could be facing up to a four-game suspension due to a DUI arrest back in July of 2014.

Le’Veon Bell burst onto the scene as one of the NFL’s top running backs during the 2014 season, but he is facing a suspension to start the 2015 season due to a DUI arrest last summer. There is a chance that the suspension could be as many as four games, according to a report from Pro Football Talk.

"The new substance-abuse policy makes a two-game suspension the standard penalty for a DUI arising from alcohol use. For violations of the law involving other substances of abuse, a first offense exposes the player to a suspension of “up to four” games."

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Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how long of a suspension Bell ends up with. There is no question that he will get at least a two-game suspension, but this new policy definitely gives Bell a chance to end up with a four-game suspension. Either way, he’ll be back for the majority of the season so it shouldn’t really hurt the Steelers too terribly much.

Those four games aren’t going to be easy for them, but they’ll just have to make sure that they bring a quality backup running back on board this offseason.

During the 2014 season, Bell ended up putting up a very impressive stat line. He ran for 1,361 yards and eight touchdowns on 290 carries, and also was an excellent receiver out of the backfield. Bell caught 83 passes for 854 yards and three touchdowns throughout the course of the season.

There aren’t many running backs that can be that big of a threat in the passing game. At just 23 years old, the future is incredibly bright for Bell and the Steelers. He has all of the potential in the world to become the best running back in the NFL if he continues to work hard on his game and improve.

Pittsburgh hasn’t had a running back as dominant as Bell was this past season in quite some time. He may very well end up being one of the best running backs in franchise history if he keeps improving like he did last year.

That being said, he is going to need to stay out of trouble off-the-field. Many players have had impressive talent and thrown it away because they couldn’t keep their nose clean away from the gridiron. If Bell can leave that life behind him following this incident, then he can go wherever he wants as far as his career is concerned.

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