Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell made headlines a couple weeks ago when he told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that he would finally end his long holdout and report to the team during their Week 7 bye.

But as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports, the Steelers have yet to actually hear from Bell himself about his purported return, and no one within the organization knows exactly when Bell will report.

Bell has deployed a strategy that has kept Steelers' officials and players in the dark, with no contact with any of them, according to sources. No one within the Steelers organization knows exactly when Bell will report this upcoming week, which was previously reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

If Bell does report as planned, he'd be set to make his season debut at home against the Cleveland Browns after their bye on Oct. 29.

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After failing to come to an agreement on a long-term deal with the Steelers last offseason, Bell has continued to stay away from the team. He still hasn't signed his $14.5 million franchise tag in order to preserve his health heading into free agency.

James Conner has filled in as the Steelers' starting running back in Bell's absence and has played well. He is one of just a handful of players with at least 300 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards through the first five weeks of the season.

Ben Roethlisberger recently voiced his desire for Conner to continue being a significant part of the offense even when Bell returns to the lineup.