Le’Veon Bell ruined his reputation among Pittsburgh Steelers fans, and nobody should care that he’s moving to a new sport.
Had he not carved up his reputation during his playing career, this could have been a sad day for Steelers fans. At one point Le’Veon Bell was a fan favorite and considered to be one of the best running backs in the league.
In his first five seasons with the Steelers, Bell earned 3 Pro Bowl appearances and 2 First-Team All-Pro honors, via Pro Football Reference. During this brilliant run, Bell eared recorded three seasons with over 1,200 rushing yards and was a menace to opposing defenses in the passing game with his soft hands and precise route-running out of the backfield.
Sadly, the legacy he was building went out the window after treating the organization and his teammates the way he did. Without so much as a warning, Bell sat out the entire 2018 season over a contract dispute. During this time, his egocentric personality was on full display.
Bell joined the New York Jets the following season in 2019, where his career quickly fizzled out. Since then, he has briefly been with the Chiefs, Ravens, and Buccaneers, but wasn’t able to stick.
Now that Bell has come to the realization that his NFL playing career is over, the former All-Pro running back is going to test his luck in the world of boxing. Recently, Le’Veon released an unofficial retirement on Instagram. The first part of it seemed to be directed at Pittsburgh Steelers fans:
"I’m excited for this next chapter of my life, my journey to be the BEST at what I do … The NFL has done great things for me, & I truly appreciated every single year of my NFL journey … obviously, I (we, whoever) wish things would’ve played out differently in 2018, like if I legit had a time machine to go back to 2018, that would be soo litttt for soo many reasons but I don’t … all I can do, all WE can do is keep moving forward with life…"
I wish Le’Veon Bell the best of luck in his new endeavors. I really do. However, this has to be the most emotionless retirement from a former Steelers All-Pro that I’ve ever witnessed.
Things with Steelers and Bell could have been much differnt
Next to Antonio Brown (who stands in a class of his own when it comes to questionable character), nobody has harmed the team chemistry for the Steelers and tarnished relationships quite like Bell. Sadly, his unofficial retirement has left the rational fan completely emotionless. We just don’t care one way or the other.
This could have been very different if a few decisions were made back in 2018 (like Bell alluded to).
The Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to fork up big money to a running back with significant mileage already on the tires and Bell turned it down. Though he did get his bag with the New York Jets in 2019, Bell earned just 27.6 percent of his money on his new deal before the Jets terminated his deal, according to Over the Cap.
In the end, Bell spent the second half of his NFL career searching for a home when he could have stayed in Pittsburgh all along. He would have been a much more successful football player without a sour reputation. There may be a few hardcore Le’Veon Bell fans out there who follow him through his new boxing career, but I could care less.