Since the deadline passed for star running back Le'Veon Bell to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers in order to play this season, he has continued to throw some subtle shade at the team.

Bell has gone that route once again as he took to social media to like a post of the final score of the 24-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon:

There is clearly a disconnect with Bell and the Steelers that has led to him distancing himself from the franchise. He has already changed his bio on social media to refer to himself as an “All Pro NFL Running Back” with no affiliation with Pittsburgh in any manner. This may just be another strong indicator that Bell is setting himself up to move on next offseason when he hits the market for the first time in his career.

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The two sides were unable to work out a long-term deal in each of the last two seasons, with the franchise tag ultimately being placed on him both times. During that time, he had made it clear in both instances that he wanted to remain with the team for the rest of his career, but that would be hard to imagine now.

All of this has pushed the situation toward a clean departure in the offseason as the Steelers have their next running back in place in James Conner. Meanwhile, Le'Veon Bell will have several suitors for his services as he's still one of the league's best players at his position. He is clearly looking forward to the next chapter of his career, as evidenced by these social media jabs.