Pittsburgh Steelers: Le’Veon Bell, once again, ends contract negotiations

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 22: Le'Veon Bell
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 22: Le'Veon Bell

Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers move farther apart, once again, after the running back calls out critics of him skipping summer workouts.

In Bell’s latest rap single, “Target,” the running back attacks the critics of him holding out from OTAs. As if the city wasn’t upset with him enough, Bell basically ended his hopes of receiving a long-term deal this summer.

That’s not certain, but judging from the Steelers past responses of Bell stating his opinion to the public, it’s easy to guess that negotiations are now over for this offseason.

Bell will still be around in 2018 as of now. But at this rate, no one knows what the next move will be for the running back. He’s made it clear he’s upset and continues to backlash at the fans who are upset he isn’t participating.

He’s lucky he’s the best running back in the NFL, because if he wasn’t a do-it-all Pro Bowler, he’d be on the free agent market months ago. Instead, Pittsburgh is dealing with his off the field issues until they figure out what the best move for their franchise is.

You begin to wonder how much is too much, though. Bell continues to complain and call out most of the fan base and team in Pittsburgh. The love for the running back has quickly diminished, and outside of the general understanding that he’s an elite football player, no one really likes Bell being around.

The organization isn’t one to deal with players acting like this. In the past, they’d take no time to trade or release a guy they believed was a distraction. Bell is certainly drawing enough attention to himself to be labeled a distraction.

It’s getting to a point where it shouldn’t be surprising if the Steelers enter 2018 without Bell on the roster. Even though no one approves of his comments or way of dealing with these contract talks, most people still want him on the field until this team brings home a Super Bowl.

Next: 3 positions to focus on this summer

But on the same hand, no one’s going to be that mad Bell’s gone, if he ends up on a different roster this summer. The way everything is working right now, it’s up in the air how long this running back stays in Pittsburgh.

Schedule