The Pittsburgh Steelers were expecting Le'Veon Bell to return for the team's Labor Day practice after witnessing him hold out for all of the preseason. Unfortunately things did not go as "planned. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert wholeheartedly expected Bell to sign a franchise tender and rejoin his 'mates, since he'd broken his pressure tactic under similar circumstances at the beginning of last season. Colbert has since released a written statement to the press expressing his disappointment with Bell's decision.
"We are disappointed Le'Veon Bell has not signed his franchise tender and rejoined his teammates," read Colbert's account of the situation. "Coach Tomlin and the coaching staff will continue to focus on preparing the players on our roster for our regular season opener on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns."
Bell's continued holdout means the Steelers will likely have to rely on backup running back James Conner unless he resurfaces in the coming days (before the Steelers' opener against the Cleveland Browns). Unless they remove his franchise tag, every game he misses from here on in will result in a $900,000 penalty, divisible from his $14.5 million salary. In July, Le'Veon tweeted that he envisioned 2018 being his best season to date, as of right now that's looking rather unlikely, at least in a Steelers' uniform.
