Steelers Le’Veon Bell suspension reduction seems fishy

The Steelers got the answer to one of the questions surrounding their preseason but there’s something uneasy about it.

Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the NFLPA and the NFL negotiated a settlement for Le’Veon Bell’s four-game suspension for missed drug tests down to three games.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert released a statement on behalf of the team acknowledging the suspension.

"“We are disappointed Le’Veon Bell has been suspended three games to start the 2016 season. We will continue to support Le’Veon, but we acknowledge this mistake has put the team in an unfortunate position. We will continue to work with Le’Veon to help him eliminate distractions in his life so he can reach his full potential as a member of our community as well as a player for the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Kevin Colbert"

The NFL released a statement of their own on the matter stating that Bell violated the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse and is eligible to return to the Steelers’ active roster on Monday, September 26^th.

The fishy part is that the NFL’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse is supposed to be black and white, cut and dry. What is the settlement for? Bell blatantly denied the idea that he failed or missed tests when the information was leaked months ago seemingly confident it would get overturned.

Bell later said that his change of phone number would exonerate him from any suspension. Something that should be fairly easily proven or disproven.

So why is there a settlement? Why did the NFL reduce the suspension if they didn’t have to under their own policy?

Is Roger Goodell really making this up as he goes along?

It seems to me that if there was a settlement to happen that meant that there was some merit to Bell’s claim that he didn’t willfully violate the policy. So how could there be enough proof to reduce the suspension by only one game? Really? Did he miss the tests or didn’t he?

I’m at a loss for words here. I’m glad that the situation is at least settled to some degree. I’m uneasy that Bell now has just as good of a chance to follow in Martavis Bryant’s footsteps as he does make the Pro Bowl again.

Next: Steelers blanked in preseason loss

What do you think about the reduced suspension, Steeler Nation?