This Sunday, Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell will dress up for his first NFL game since January 2018. And while he will be rocking green New York Jets jersey, it turns out that Bell’s motivation for good performance will come from black and gold; colors he wore for the first five years of his career.
After Pittsburgh Steelers did not want to meet his contract demands during the 2018 offseason, Bell decided to sit out the entire last season. This allowed him to become a free agent and sign a lucrative deal with the Jets. Now, after getting his money, the 27-year-old intends to show Steelers that they made a huge mistake by letting him go.
“It didn’t work out in Pittsburgh. I’m out of Pittsburgh. And now I’m in a new city, a new team, and a lot of people haven’t even given us a chance cause they don’t like our roster,” – said Bell. “They think we don’t have the talent. I’m thinking I’m going to show everybody. I’m going to show people that, look, Pittsburgh had something special and they let it go. That’s what I’m going to go out there and do.”
While Le’Veon Bell is certainly motivated to have a productive season this year, it remains to be seen whether the prolonged absence from the game has left any consequences. In 2017, the last season he played with Steelers, Bell managed to rush for 1,291 and nine touchdowns, while recording career-high 85 receptions for 655 yards and two touchdowns.
