LeVeon Bell made a shocking decision this week. Most fans expected Bell to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers this week to finish out the season and then become an unrestricted free agent next year. Bell even was seen in Pittsburgh, getting ready to apparently end his legal hold-out. That never happened and Bell chose not to play at all this season and will go into next season as a free agent with one year of football missed. What led to this? No one knows.
There is the idea that Bell showed up in Pittsburgh but then found out that, even if he came back, he would not play.
His replacement James Conner ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards with 771 yards and he won't lose his job as the Steelers' lead running back. Would it hurt Bell's value to come back and play as a backup from the bench? Could Bell be better served by sitting out and not risking injury? As far as he was concerned, LeVeon Bell decided not playing was best, even if it meant losing a few million dollars.
LeVeon Bell's former teammates steal his stuff
In a crazy video that hit today, the former teammates of LeVeon Bell with the Pittsburgh Steelers went through his locker and stole all his stuff. Bell's locker remained untouched until today -- the day after the deadline for him to return to his team to play.
In the video, Bud Dupree thanked Bell for the two pairs of signature Jordan brand cleats that he claimed from the locker.
Steelers players went into Le’Veon Bell’s locker, removing his nameplate and rummaging through items. Bud Dupree says thanks for the Jordan brand cleats. pic.twitter.com/gQaAu9hUPd
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 14, 2018
LeVeon Bell already lost $14.5 million by refusing to play this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, he is losing his stuff. While this is probably just his former teammates ribbing him -- and he should get it all back -- there are bad feelings for how this all went down.
According to defensive end Cam Heyward, the worst part is that the Steelers players have to talk about it with the press. Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster is the Players' Association rep and said that these things should not happen and is because the players fall short in the business side of the NFL.
What is next for LeVeon Bell?
With that said, there could be the possibility that the Pittsburgh Steelers don't let go. They can still transition tag LeVeon Bell next season, which means they can match any offer he gets and hold onto him. With James Conner playing so well, that would not be smart since they can get draft compensation if someone signs him if they let him go.
The main thought is that the Pittsburgh Steelers will let LeVeon Bell go without a worry and he will sign with a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans or Oakland Raiders next year.