Le’Veon Bell wishes he would’ve been a Pittsburgh Steeler start to finish. For then general manager Kevin Colbert, the feeling is mutual. Appearing on the most recent episode of Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson’s All Things Covered, Colbert offered his perspective on the long contract negotiations with Bell that ultimately ended with him leaving for the New York Jets.
“He created a market for himself,” Colbert said of Bell’s success. “We tried to get a contract done and, unfortunately, we didn’t. And it was disappointing. I saw Le’Veon came to one of our games last year and we hug and talk. He’s doing good. We wish him good. I wish he would’ve stayed with us for his whole career because it could have been special.”
Pittsburgh and Bell had long talks over the 2017 and 2018 offseasons. Ultimately, he played under the franchise tag for 2017 before sitting out all of 2018, a rare move for a player in the prime of his career. Bell sought a mega-deal that would pay him like a running back and receiver, given that he was such a focal point of the passing game. But the Steelers held firm with an offer so fair even Bell’s agent thought he should accept. But Bell, as was his right, stuck to his guns and did not play for the Steelers in 2018.
Le’Veon Bell signed a five-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets ahead of the 2019 season. His career quickly spiraled down. Two months after signing, the Jets fired GM Mike Maccagnan, the man responsible for signing Bell. Under head coach Adam Gase, the Jets were a complete mess with one of the league’s worst offenses and one of football’s most dysfunctional teams. In his first year as a Jet, Bell finished with a career-low 3.2 yards per carry and only four combined touchdowns as the team finished 7-9 with the 31st-ranked offense. Colbert thinks the year off hurt Bell’s momentum.
“If you take a year off in your career, it’s hard to get back out there…I don’t think he found the same traction. And I was disappointed for him. We tried to move on, and we did the best we could, and we wished him luck. But I wish we would’ve had him. But we didn’t. And that’s just the way this thing goes sometimes.”
Bell grew frustrated with his role, and the Jets released him midway through 2020. From there, he bounced from team to team, spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His last carry came in 2021. Bell teased an offseason comeback that never materialized and has instead focused on his boxing career, winning a match late last month. Since his career ended, Le’Veon Bell has repeatedly expressed his regret over leaving Pittsburgh. He and the team appear to be on good terms. Bell returned to the team’s practice facility last season and as Colbert mentioned, attended a Steelers’ game.
From that era, he is just one of many “what ifs” in Steelers’ history. What if Bell had remained with Pittsburgh? Would the Steelers have made a Super Bowl run? Would Bell go down as one of the greatest backs of his era and potentially make the Hall of Fame? Would a prime Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Bell be regarded as one of football’s greatest “Big Three?” We’ll never know.
