Apparently, Le’Veon Bell had a return planned from his contract impasse with the Steelers — that was scrapped once he heard his teammates going public with their opinions on the matter.
That is coming from former Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who said Bell recently revealed that return plan to him, but he would not divulge exactly what it was.
“I don’t know when he comes back,” Jones-Drew said on “The Dave Dameshek Football Program.” “He had a plan. He told me, but I will never say it.
“I knew. But then I didn’t know because all this stuff came out after the players said [what they did about his contract].”
That starts with the offensive line, which was rather outspoken after Bell missed practice on the Wednesday before sitting out the 21-21 tie against the Browns in Week 1. Bell also missed Wednesday’s game-day meeting, according to NFL Network, meaning he likely will remain out for this Sunday’s matchup against the Chiefs.
“Honestly, it’s a little selfish,” center Maurkice Pouncey said last week. “I’m kind of pissed right now. It sucks that he’s not here. We’ll move on as a team.”
Guard Ramon Foster went a step further and made reference to the $14.54 million offer on the table from the Steelers as part of the franchise tag they put on Bell. He had also previously turned down a five-year, $70 million deal over the summer.
“He’s making seven times what I make,” Foster said, “twice as much as [tackle Al Villanueva] is making, and we’re the guys who do it for him.”
The one public comment that did illicit a response from Bell came again from Pouncey, who referenced a lot of the public comments made recently by Bell’s agent, Adisa Bakari, which included Bakari saying this is likely going to be Bell’s last season with the Steelers.
“Why play hide-and-seek? Why let your agent say this?” Pouncey said. “Just man up and tell us what you’re going to do.”
That quote was posted on Instagram by Bleacher Report, and Bell responded in the comments with just, “Whoa.”
Bell also responded by not showing up. His backup, James Conner, had a good game against the Browns, rushing 31 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns while catching five passes for 57 yards. And Jones-Drew added another part of their conversation, in which Bell was happy for the way Conner played.
“He said to me, ‘People think I don’t like Pittsburgh. I don’t like James Conner. I don’t like these guys. Yes, I was disappointed they went out and spoke out about my contract … but I still want them to do well. They’re still guys I work with and put in this extra blood, sweat, and tears with,’” Bell said, according to Jones-Drew.
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