Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell said this afternoon that the NFL has yet to hear the appeal of his three-game suspension that was reported in April to have been levied by the league.
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Blount, now a running back with New England, received a one-game suspension from the league and will miss the opener when Pittsburgh visits the Patriots.
Bell was arrested last August along with former teammate LeGarrette Blount when police found marijuana in Bell’s vehicle.
Without Bell the first two weeks, the Steelers could end up looking very one-dimensional, while relying heavily on quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger to air the ball out.
According to USA Today Sports, two people with knowledge of the situation said the suspension of three games has been reduced to just two.
Blount, who now plays for the New England Patriots, accepted the NFL’s one-game suspension without an apparent appeal.
“I want to make sure I do everything in my power to be a better teammate and player”, Bell said at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Penn. Bell was the second place rusher in the NFL last year and would be the first if the Cowboys had not run DeMarco Murray into the ground.
After spending the better part of five decades becoming one of the leagues most consistent winners behind a defense that wasnt affected by whatever unpredictable stuff Mother Nature threw up during December and January, the Steelers have evolved into a team that can look every bit as unsafe as whatever Peyton Manning or Tom Brady can draw up. Considering Bell was the Steelers workhorse on offense last season, they will have to find more offensive production from the backups. He also only failed to reach the 100 yard mark from scrimmage three times all year.
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The Steelers signed veteran halfback DeAngelo Williams as a free agent from the Carolina Panthers to back up Bell. The Steelers will miss him the first two weeks.
