With the opening week of the NFL season approaching, Steelers LeVeon Bell has still not signed his franchise tag contract and joined his teammates in preparation for this season.
Bell has chosen to take the same route as last year, opting not to sign his 1-year deal until the very last moment. He once again has missed all of training camp and preseason due to a lack of an agreement.
Last season Bell chose to sign the week before the season opener. He got off to a slow start in the first few games before ultimately returning to form. This year seems to be a repeat of last year as Bell has clearly stated that he will preserve his body from the rigor of training and train on his own.
Many analysts and former players differ on how this affect Bell’s performance. Some view it as a smart decision to preserve his body, while others feel he is being selfish by not joining his teammates.
His teammates don’t seem to be too worried, as many of them have stated that they respect his decision and believe that he will be ready for the season.
Even with Bell’s slow start last year he played in 15 games and only sat out the last game because the Steelers had nothing to gain. He finished 3rd in the league in rushing and secured another Pro Bowl berth.
Yesterday Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac issued a statement that Bell had informed his teammates that he would be reporting to the team on Labor Day. However, Bell quickly refuted that;
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell informed some teammates he plans on rejoining the team on Labor Day, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reported Tuesday.
However, Bell denied the claim:
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don’t believe the fake news, I never said anything to no one...
It wouldn’t make sense for Bell to report on Labor as the Steelers will not be practicing on Labor Day. He most likely report after the final preseason game or the Tuesday after the holiday to begin preparation for the opener. In any event his playing time will be determined by his conditioning and the chance of him holding out and losing money when he is holding out because of not receiving a contract for enough money is slim.
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