Le'Veon Bell signed with the New York Jets earlier this week, but his journey to ultimately landing with his new team was far from easy.
Bell sat out the entire 2018 campaign due to a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers, marking the second straight season that Bell held out. Of course, in 2017, he missed just one game before returning to rack up 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns while hauling in 85 receptions for 655 yards and a couple of scores en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection, so this was much different.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Bell explained what went through his mind this past season, stating that he actually almost came back with six games remaining in the year, but thought better of it.
“I was so close to doing it,” he said, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. “At the same time, I was so torn. Do I go through that? Will they embrace me or will they not? I eventually decided I sat out 10 games, I can sit six more. At the time, the team was malfunctioning, having problems, a lot of blame on me. I didn’t want to come back and not feel welcome.”
Not only was Bell worried about whether or not his team would embrace him, but he was also thinking about his future.
“If I went out there for the last six games and got hurt, I would have felt sick,” he said.
Overall, Bell spent six years with the Steelers, making three Pro Bowls and earning a pair of First-Team All-Pro selections.
Follow Us
Subscribe