Superstar Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has yet to report to the team. His teammates are confident they will be fine with or without him.
Last season, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell ended his self-imposed exile via contract holdout on Labor Day. This season, Labor Day has come and gone, and Bell hasn’t returned.
The Steelers are preparing to face their AFC North division rival Cleveland Browns this Sunday. While the team would love to have Bell in tow, some Steelers players are confident they will be fine without him. Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward stated that Bell can come along for the journey if he may, but it won’t stop the Steelers as a whole from continuing their voyage.
"“My focus is on this team and who is here,” Heyward said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “When Le’Veon gets here, he gets here. But until then, let’s ride. It won’t be a distraction. We’re seasoned for that, I think. I just think where we want to get to, the goals we have in mind, that stuff will be under the rug. If he comes on this journey, he comes on this journey. We put him in the backseat, strap him in and be ready to go.”"
Left guard Ramon Foster has faith in current starting running back James Connor. “If we start off with James, I think we’ll be fine either way,” Foster said. “He’s a guy who has worked his butt off. He’s made strides. He’s made us confident in him.”
While players who impose contract holdouts are doing so for understandable reasons, it can cause problems for the team as a whole. Their teammates, especially if the player is high profile, will be asked about the player’s contract and when they believe the player will report. The Steelers have perhaps grown accustomed to Bell’s absence in training camp for the second year in a row. Thus, they’ve prepared themselves to move on without Bell, if need be.
Of course, the Steelers’ chances to win the Super Bowl will increase significantly when he returns. Bell is one of the league’s most versatile backs and he’s apart of the Steelers offensive trio: the Killer B’s (Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Bell). But if Bell doesn’t return soon, it’s good a few Steelers players believe their team will be fine.