It’s almost been four months since Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell suffered a torn MCL in his right knee in the Week 8 game last season against the Cincinnati Bengals and on Wednesday at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, general manager Kevin Colbert let it be known that the team has no timetable set for his return to the field during the offseason.
“He’ll be ready when he’s ready,” Colbert said Wednesday, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There’s no timetable coming from us that requires him to be ready for something. You can’t even say he’ll be ready for the regular season, because you won’t know that until he goes through the whole process. His health and his ability to return at 100% is the most important thing.”
Earlier Wednesday morning, Colbert did say in an interview on Steelers Nation Radio that Bell is on schedule with his rehab and that he will start picking up what he can do on the field in March and April.
“We’re not going to rush it,” said Colbert. “We know that he had a serious injury. He’s well on his way to recovery, but again, we’ll need him in September, he doesn’t necessarily have to be on the field for minicamp or OTAs, so we’ll make sure health is first and foremost with him.”
Bell, who has registered 4,166 total yards from scrimmage since entering the league as a second-round draft pick in 2013, is entering his final year of his rookie contract and because of that, there’s a lot of speculation as to whether or not the team will sign him to a long-term extension prior to the start of the 2016 regular season.
