For the second straight year, Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell has held out from the team as he seeks a lucrative long-term contract. While both sides expressed optimism about the deal being reached earlier in the offseason, nothing has come to fruition, and now the holdout has extended much longer than expected.
In 2017, Bell reported to camp the Monday ahead of Week 1, playing in a limited role in the opener before returning to his usual dominate form for the rest of the season. There was an expectation that the Michigan State would once again arrive on Labor Day ahead of the season opener this year; that didn't happen, and he remained absent on Wednesday as the team conducted meetings for their Week 1 matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
With no end in sight for the holdout, there's a growing belief that Bell won't suit up for Sunday's game. Yet, according to BetOnline.ag, the odds favor Bell making his season debut in Week 1.
Here are the odds at the time of publishing for Bell to play his first snap of 2018:
- Week 1 (-225)
- Week 2 (+200)
- Week 3 or after (+300)
- Does not play in the 2018 regular season (+2000)
UPDATE: The odds have changed (7:38 p.m. ET):
- Week 1 (+100)
- Week 2 (+200)
- Week 3 or after (+115)
- Does not play in the 2018 regular season (+2000)
Unless something changes dramatically over the next couple days, don't count on Bell seeing the field Sunday. It's also very unlikely that Bell doesn't play at all in 2018; he needs to report and sign his franchise tender by the Tuesday after Week 10 in order to become eligible for free agency. There's a small chance Bell reports in the middle of the season and doesn't play a down, especially given the heated reactions from guards Ramon Foster and David DeCastro to his absence from team meetings Wednesday.
As it stands, the safest bets seem to be on Bell either playing in Week 2, or from Week 3 on.
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