Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell decided to swap Pittsburgh Steelers for New York Jets this summer and is ready to start a new chapter in his career. But before doing that, Bell took a look back on his time with the Steelers and a relationship with team’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.
Since Antonio Brown, who forced a trade from Pittsburgh to Oakland Raiders this summer, criticized Roethlisberger for his on and off-the-field actions, SI asked Le’Veon Bell about his experience with the 37-year-old QB.
Responding to the question, Bell acknowledged that Ben Roethlisberger is a “great quarterback” but that he has certain preferences when it comes to throwing the ball and that he “wants to win his way.”
“The organization wants to win. Tomlin wants to win. Ben wants to win—but Ben wants to win his way, and that’s tough to play with.” – said Bell. “Ben won a Super Bowl, but he won when he was younger. Now he’s at this stage where he tries to control everything, and [the team] let him get there.
“So if I’m mad at a player and I’m not throwing him the ball—if I’m not throwing A.B. the ball and I’m giving JuJu [Smith-Schuster] all the shine or Jesse [James] or Vance [McDonald] or whoever it is, and you know consciously you’re making your other receiver mad but you don’t care—it’s hard to win that way.” – he added.
Asked whether Roethlisberger played a part in his desire to leave the Steelers, Bell said that it wasn’t the only factor but “yes, it was a factor.”
After six years with the Steelers, Le’Veon Bell decided to leave the franchise this summer as a free agent and has inked a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the New York Jets. The deal not only guarantees him $35 million, but it has also made him the highest paid RB in the league.
