Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was a critical component for the team’s offensive success in 2014, but a two-game suspension followed by a knee injury in Week 8 limited him to just six games in 2015.
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He did not feel that way last November 1 at Heinz Field, when the pain in his injured right knee rivaled the hurt he felt as he saw linebacker Vontaze Burfict and some of his Cincinnati Bengals teammates celebrate the injury.
Burfict and the Bengals aren’t the only ones who are playing on or over the edge, or as Bell says, “dirty”.
Bell was diagnosed with a torn MCL that required surgery, and the Steelers placed him on injured reserve.
This surely won’t be the last we’ve heard from Bell before that rematch occurs September 18 in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t think it was just (Burfict); it was like the whole team was really out there trying to like twist my ankles and do little dirty stuff in between the piles”, Bell told Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Tuesday.
Even though Bell has missed 13 regular season and 3 playoff games during his first three years in the league due to knee and foot injuries, the former second-round draft pick out of Michigan State doesn’t consider himself as being a player who is injury prone.
“I feel GREAT”, Bell intoned early Tuesday afternoon as the Steelers completed their first spring practice.
“Some people look at it being injury prone, or whatever, it’s not like I’m out here tweaking my hamstrings or spraining my ankles, or stuff like that”, said Bell.
“Umm, a couple, but obviously a lot of teams in our division really play that same way, so obviously I know that”, he said. According to Bell, Burfict has since apologized for his tackle that ended Bell’s season via a direct message on Twitter and that he is happy to see Bell running and getting back on the field. I don’t think it was just him. “I feel there’s lot of teams that do that, try to take me out of the game”. “I was excited to have him back out there and excited to get him playing real football”.
But having Bell back on the field – even though he was just cleared to do positional drills – was a bonus.
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In other Steelers news, Antonio Brown was not present at day one of the Steelers OTA’s on Tuesday.
