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Throughout much of the offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell has been away from the team as he again holds out and waits to sign his franchise tender.
This has brought into question what type of workload he will have once he does make his return to the team for the 2018 campaign. On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner stated there won't be any limitations on Bell once he gets back in the fold, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Steelers OC Randy Fichtner sounds pretty comfortable playing Le'Veon Bell in Week 1. Asked about potential need to scale him back, Fichtner said, "That’s a hard question because that’s Le’Veon Bell…There are things he can do that, quite frankly, most people can't do."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 28, 2018
The Steelers don't have any concern about Bell stepping back into the mix to produce at a high level while taking on a significant workload. Although he has been away from the team, the 26-year-old has been keeping himself in shape and ready to go for the 2018 season. Still, there will be a necessary adjustment period as he gets his body used to contact once again, as it could wear on him a bit to begin the year.
Bell was able to get past that physical adjustment early last year to put together another impressive campaign, posting 1,291 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns as well as a career-best 85 catches for 655 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. This marked his third year with more than 1,200 rushing yards and 600 receiving yards. There is no reason for the Steelers to believe he can't continue to perform at that elite level this upcoming campaign as their primary option out of the backfield.
If the Steelers hope to contend for the Super Bowl this upcoming season, it will require Bell to once again perform like one of the league's best backs.
