Former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell should be finished in the NFL

Free-agent running back Le’Veon Bell should never get a chance to sign with another team. Here’s why the former Steelers star should be finished in the NFL. 

Le’Veon Bell is making waves – and hardly for the first time. After doing next-to-nothing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, the former All-Pro running back took to Twitter explaining that he will “never play for Andy Reid again.” Bell is a complete afterthought at this point in his NFL career, but it’s astounding that he would have the audacity to come out and say some of the things he has said.

In 2018 with the Steelers, Bell left his teammates hanging – not informing them of his decision to hold out until the season already started. Through the years, his self-centered and entitled attitude has left front offices frustrated to the point where they couldn’t put up with his antics any longer.

Now entering his 9th NFL season, Bell is convinced that he can sign with a team on ‘his time,’ but is anyone even going to want him. There are more than enough reasons to take a hard pass on the washed-up running back.

No team should be in the market for the former Steelers star RB

At this point in his career, whatever you used to think of Le’Veon Bell during his time needs to be thrown out the window. While I would argue that the former two-time First-Team All-Pro running back has always been a bit overrated due to his scheme and offensive line that allowed him to be so patient as a runner in Pittsburgh, no team should even think twice about signing him at this point.

During his 2017 season with the Steelers, Bell’s efficiency was falling off a cliff. He went from averaging 4.9 yards per carry in 2016 to just 4.0 the following season, according to Pro Football Reference. Worst of all, the transition went out on his legs that were already lacking a second gear. He finished 2017 earning just 3 yards of 20-plus yards on a whopping 321 carries – the worst explosive-play rate in the NFL.

I was ridiculed at the time for saying the Steelers dodged a bullet when Le’Veon Bell didn’t sign the contract they offered and that he wasn’t going to be good on his second deal. While some fans would chalk his poor production up to be being on the New York Jets, it was clear that there was hardly any tread left on the tires.

Now in his 9th NFL season with 1,950 career touches, there shouldn’t be a team in the league willing to gamble on the washed-up running back – especially considering that there are character issues an organization would be forced to deal with.

Astonishingly, Le’Veon Bell hasn’t averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry since 2016 with the Steelers, and he has punched in just 5 scores on the ground since 2017. Yet, with all of his subpar production, Bell obviously feels like he’s entitled to a starting gig somehow.

With the gas tank running on empty for Le’Veon Bell and with the headaches he has caused with his teammates and coaches, there isn’t a valid reason out there to consider bringing in the former All-Pro running back. His career should be finished with.