When the NFL schedule came out in the spring, this was a game a lot of people had circled on their calendars. Le'Veon Bell would get to face his former teammates when the Steelers travel to MetLife Stadium to face the Jets Dec. 22.
A lot has transpired between then and now, but the game is finally near. And, as usually the case in the league, a lot has transpired between then and now.
The Steelers (8-6) have scratched and clawed to keep themselves alive in the AFC playoff picture despite not having Ben Roethlisberger for all but six quarters this season, while Bell hasn't exactly found his new setting with the Jets (5-9) to his liking.
After sitting out the entire 2018 season rather than sign his one-year franchise tender worth $14.5 million with the Steelers, Bell signed a 4-year, $52.5-million contract with the Jets in the offseason.
Several Steelers players were very vocal about Bell's decision to sit out the entire 2018 season, feeling as if he had misled them on his intent to return to the team and play for his franchise tag as he had done in 2017.
But as they prepare to face him now, those sour feelings have subsided.
"I have the utmost respect for him," said Maurkice Pouncey, one of the more outspoken critics of Bell last year. "He did it his way and rightfully so, and what's wrong with that? He made the right decision for himself.
"The outside world can think what they want, but everyone in this locker room loves and respects him."
Bell might have made the financial move he felt was best for himself -- turning down more money from the Steelers, who offered him an average salary of $14 million over five years in favor of more guaranteed money from the Jets. But his marriage with the Jets hasn't been a happy one.
Reports surfaced in training camp that New York coach Adam Gase didn't want to sign Bell, and the running back hasn't been happy with his usage -- or lack thereof -- with the Jets.
Bell hasn't gotten more than 21 carries in any one game this season for the Jets, while his usage in the passing game also is down. He's on pace for 65 catches and 235 carries this season, far fewer touches than he had in his final two seasons with the Steelers, when he led the NFL with 582 rushing attempts, gaining 2,559 yards while catching 160 passes for 1,271 yards and scoring 20 combined touchdowns.
Bell currently ranks 11th in the AFC in total yards with 1,080, but it's just not been the same. He's averaging 3.3 yards per carry behind a makeshift offensive line, while his 7.1 yards per reception is the second-lowest of his career behind only an injury-shortened 2015 season when he appeared in only six games.
Still, the Steelers are very cognizant of Bell's abilities and his likely desire to play well against the team that selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft.
"Everybody knows what he’s capable of," Mike Hilton said. "We had our time here with him. He’s a guy that makes plays. He makes plays in space. Throwing it to him on slants and screens and they allow him to be the playmaker he is."
In that regard, the Jets will do many of the same things the Steelers did with Bell from a passing game standpoint. They'll split him out wide and have him run routes like a receiver.
It was that facet of his game that helped him catch 75 or more passes in three of his five seasons with the Steelers.
"They run real routes with him. They’re looking at him as the main read and then going elsewhere if it isn’t there," Hilton said. "When you’ve got a weapon like that an offense can utilize, the offense is going to find ways to get him the ball."
Even if it's not quite enough for Bell's liking. One of the reasons he said he didn't report to the Steelers last season was because of his usage with the team, feeling his NFL-high 406 touches in 2017 were too many.
That's not been the case with the Jets this season. Now, like Goldilocks, Bell is complaining he's not getting the ball enough.
"I've been playing in this league for a long time. I've always been kinda used to like, getting the ball 20, 25, 30 times," Bell said on his podcast "17 Weeks" last week. "Because that's what my body can handle and that's the type of player I've always been. Even in college, at Michigan State, I was getting the ball that much.
"I go to the NFL, it's been the same thing. Isn't it funny this year, because it hasn't happened. I understand (the) offense is starting got come together, and guys are starting to learn, we got a new system, and new players up front and we got new coaches and things like that. But I think, for me, I would love to put the game on my back and take games over. I haven't had one of those games this year yet. But a lot of people don't think I'm the same player or I can't do that. That's because I haven't had the opportunity to really show. As time goes on, we'll get better, we'll find a way to make things shake."
The Steelers are intent on not allowing that breakout game to happen this week.
Bell had his most productive day on the ground this season in a 42-21 loss to the Ravens last week, gaining 87 yards on 21 carries. But the Steelers boast the NFL's fourth-best defense in terms of total yards allowed, while the 3.7 yards per rushing attempt they allow is third-best in the league.
They'd like to extend Bell's misery for at least another week, while winning a game they need to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Even if they still have respect for Bell as a player. There's no vendetta. They've got bigger fish to fry.
"We weren't mad at him not being there, we knew he had business to take care of and trying to get what he thought he was due," David DeCastro said of Bell. "Just an unfortunate part of the business side of it, nothing personal."