Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount spent all of 11 games with the team during the 2014 season before being unceremoniously released, subsequently branded a ‘cancer’ by some in the locker room—something that came as a surprise to the three-time Super Bowl champion at the time.
“Once I left the team and went elsewhere, I see reports and stuff coming out about ‘Oh yeah, he was cancerous, we don’t need a cancer like that on the team’. I’m like, ‘Bro, you were just…’”, he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan yesterday, addressing that subject.
The Steelers waived Blount in mid-November after exiting the field early in a win over the Tennessee Titans. It was known that he was frustrated with his limited role. He told his hosts that he had conversations “ad nauseum” with offensive coordinator Todd Haley, with whom he clearly had issues.
According to Blount, he only left the field after the Steelers were already taking a knee and shaking hands to end the game. He promptly showered and exited to the team bus, where he was retrieved and asked to return to the locker room. He said at the time that he believed his teammates understood his position.
“They understood, I think for probably a couple guys, that were actually on my side as far as when the season went on”, he said, regarding whether or not he did the right thing in expressing his frustrations. He did have the vocal support of some like Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, though that cache has faded over the years.
“That made me feel a lot better about my decision, even though I probably didn’t do it in the most ethical way”, he told his hosts. “But everyone gets to a point where it’s like, ‘Bro, you know what? Respect goes a long way’”.
Still, he indicated that he found it hard to believe what he read from some former teammates after he was waived. “That’s probably a good thing for our team that happened”, former center Maurkice Pouncey said after the waiver. “At the end of the day if there was someone that was a cancer who ended up leaving on his own, that’s a blessing for us”.
While former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was more diplomatic in his comments, he did tell 93.7 The Fan at the time that “it will be tough if it was just for pure selfishness reason because that is not what the Pittsburgh Steelers are”.
Blount was on the show to promote his new line of cannabinoid products, ironic considering that his tenure in Pittsburgh began with himself and young running back Le’Veon Bell, whom he was supposed to mentor, getting arrested for marijuana possession before a preseason game.
While his tenure in Pittsburgh was brief, however, it was not a detriment to his NFL career. He went on to win the Super Bowl later that season with the New England Patriots, then again two years later, and one last time, with the Philadelphia Eagles over the Patriots.
He last played in 2018, finishing his career with 6,306 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns. He rushed for 266 yards on 66 carries with two touchdowns during his short stint with the Steelers, which we’re evidently still talking about.
