Roosevelt Nix and Le'Veon Bell are tight. Always have been. Always will be.
Nothing -- certainly not a contract holdout -- is going to come between the Columbus-area natives.
When a few of the Steelers' offensive lineman put Bell on blast last week after the All-Pro running back's refusal to sign his $14.54 million franchise tag, his lead blocker was noticeably quiet. And he isn't about to utter a bad word now, especially after a cease-and-desist order regarding Bell seems to have been ordered throughout the Rooney Complex.
Interestingly though, Bell's absence could present an expanded opportunity for Nix and others. It certainly provided one for Nix last week against the Browns.
The Steelers' massively disappointing 21-21 tie in Cleveland gave the NFL its first glimpse as to what a post-Bell Pittsburgh backfield might look like. The early results were encouraging enough.
With James Conner making his first NFL start in poor field conditions in Cleveland, first-year offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner leaned on Nix, his Pro Bowl fullback, to aid the young running back.
It resulted in Conner putting up a very Bell-like 192 yards from scrimmage on 36 touches, including 135 rushing yards on 31 carries (4.4 per carry).
"Every week you're kind of looking for the best personnel that fits," Fichtner was saying. "You work with the best personnel you have healthy, what you're able to use and what might be best used versus the defense you are seeing. It just so happens this past week and, maybe, given the environment and conditions, it was best suited to use Rosie. He did a nice job."
Might more two-back sets be a harbinger of things to come?
"I don't know anything about that," Nix was saying. "I just go when they call my name."
In Week 1, Nix's number was called for 19 offensive snaps (23 percent). While that might not sound like a lot, it was the fourth-most he's played in a game in his three-year, 42-game career. Last season, Nix played 181 offensive snaps (16.4 percent) to rank 11th among all fullbacks, according to footballoutsiders.com.
The position has been largely devalued in today's run-pass option era, but the Steelers -- and others -- have shown fullbacks can still be quite effective when employed. At Pitt, and like most other spread offenses, Conner typically played out of the shotgun with a single setback.
Conner says he doesn't have a preference, he'll run the ball with whatever personnel is on the field, but he is grateful for the services that Nix can provide.
"I'm appreciative of him doing the dirty work," Conner was telling me. "Rosie clears lanes. I'll take him when he's out there (and) run behind him.
"He's a guy who wants to. Not everyone is built to play fullback, but he's a guy who'll put his hat in there. He has this mindset. In every phase of the game, special teams, too. He's a key guy for us."
Nix has staked his reputation, along with his work on special teams, as a punishing blocker. Last season, Bell rushed for 1,291 yards, the second-highest total of his career, with Nix plowing the field in front of him.
Obviously, Conner's north-south, hit-the-holes-hard, style is much different than Bell's methodic, wait-and-see approach. To Nix, it's all the same. But he's liked what he's seen so far from Conner.
"Definitely impressed me," Nix said. "First game, first start ... It was a good game for him.
"He runs hard. He's a great running back. He's proven that. We've got some work we've got to do but if he continues on that path, he'll be a star."
The Steelers are banking that Conner, a third-round pick in 2017, can be Bell's heir apparent. While his Week 1 performance was encouraging, he is not yet at Bell's level.
Last Sunday's fourth quarter in Cleveland was a cruel reminder of that. Conner's production nosedived after his fumble with 7:44 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Myles Garrett stripped him from behind. He had just 14 yards over his final 10 carries as the Steelers tried to move the chains on the ground and kill off the clock.
In hindsight, Fichtner says he should have at least given Conner a rest by getting Stevan Ridley or Jaylen Samuels in for a series or two.
"Chalk that up to me being a young coordinator in the league," Fichtner said. "I should've got other running backs in.
"That's just something that maybe got away from us. But, you know, you didn't feel that way in-game. He was giving you good enough strength and, obviously, was more than capable of handling the snaps he did, and he did a really fine job with it."
Standing on the sideline, Ridley didn't see a need for Conner to come out either. He knows how it goes. He was once the guy in New England, putting up 1,263 rushing yards and 12 TDs in 2012 only to see himself in part of a rotation the following season.
"Like any running back that has the rock in his hand and is doing something with it, you really don't want to come out of the game," Ridley said. "It's only right to understand that. I've been there before. It's a long season. If I didn't get in last week, I'm sure it'll come this next couple of weeks."
Conner had 31 carries last week after having 32 in 14 games as a rookie last year. Is it realistic for him to handle such a heavy workload week in and week out?
Whether it's been Willie Parker or Bell, Mike Tomlin's modus operandi has been to "run the wheels off" his running backs. That is, in large part, why Bell has been hanging around South Beach instead of the South Side.
With Bell's return in limbo -- it could be tomorrow or it could be in Week 10 -- Tomlin doesn't have the luxury of overworking Conner.
To put Conner's Week-1 workload into perspective, Bell has only had seven games in his five-year career with 35-plus touches and the first didn't come until Nov. 17, 2014, his breakout, 222 total-yard performance on a Monday night at Tennessee.
That was also the game where a disgruntled LeGarrette Blount stormed off the field early due to a lack of playing time. He was released the following day.
From that point on, there has been no mention of a 1 and 1A. Bell has been the Steelers' unquestioned feature back. Certainly, DeAngelo Williams had his moments in a Pittsburgh uniform, but if Bell was on the field -- either healthy or not suspended -- he took the snaps.
Until last week, that is.
Sunday's game against the Chiefs should provide yet another glimpse as to what the Steelers will do in Bell's absence.
If that means more work for Nix, Ramon Foster is all for it. The veteran left guard says Nix -- "a go-harder guy" -- is like having another offensive lineman on the field.
"It's great for Rosie, I absolutely love him on the field," Foster was saying. "Rosie's a big part of getting the run game going. He's a special talent. It's good to use him."