From the looks of it, the only thing that stands between Le'Veon Bell and retirement from the NFL is the official filing of paperwork.
Bell took to Instagram Wednesday with a lengthy post that all but officially announced his retirement from football, with the rest promoting his shift to boxing, including his upcoming bout with Adrian Peterson on July 30.
"I’m excited for this next chapter of my life, my journey to be the BEST at what I do," Bell opened. "The NFL has done great things for me, & I truly appreciated every single year of my NFL journey."
Bell was then very specific on the most pivotal moment in his NFL career. He may not have mentioned "Pittsburgh" or "Steelers" in his post, but it was very clear Bell was referring to when he held out the entire 2018 season over a contract dispute, thus ending his tenure with the Steelers.
"Obviously, I (we, whoever) wish things would’ve played out differently in 2018," Bell wrote. "Like if I legit had a time machine to go back to 2018, that would be soo litttt for soo many reasons but I don’t … all I can do, all WE can do is keep moving forward with life."
For those who may not recall what happened in 2018, Bell turned down a five-year, $70-million contract -- which included $33 million guaranteed and $45 million over the first three years of the deal. On the advice of his agent, Adisa Bakari, Bell wanted to be paid as a running back and receiver since he was a central figure in both areas of the Steelers' high-powered offense.
While a quick glance at Pro-Football Reference tells you Bell caught 312 passes in addition to his 1,229 carries over his five years with the Steelers, it doesn't change the fact that no player gets paid for contributions to multiple positions. There is a market for each position in the NFL, and players are paid accordingly. Lamar Jackson won't be paid as a quarterback and as a running back. He'll get money for the former because he's a quarterback.
Bell learned that the hard way. After he burned his bridge with Pittsburgh, Bell went to the Jets on a four-year deal worth $52.5 million. We now know his career was never the same again as Bell was subsequently released from his contract during his second year in New York after rushing for only 863 yards in 17 games. After bouncing between the Chiefs, Ravens and Buccaneers, Bell has all but traded his cleats for boxing gloves.
What's really tragic -- yes, tragic -- about this is how it slammed the door shut on an exciting era of Steelers football. While Bell's career was never the same, this was the first major domino that fell in closing the window on the Steelers' strong chances of competing for their seventh Lombardi.
Bell's former teammate, Ramon Foster, recounted the entire situation in Thursday's edition of The Ramon Foster Show. I strongly suggest you watch every second of it to further grasp how much it weighed on Bell's teammates during that time -- from someone who was there and lived it:
"In that year, we had eight Pro Bowlers, man," Foster said of the 9-6-1 Steelers that failed to reach the postseason. "That window, people speak about them whether they exist or not, you know when you have a damn good team. And that was a point in which we had a damn good team. That was the start of the fall of what happened in 2019 and moving forward."
There's no way to know how things would have played out if Bell accepted that massive contract offer from Kevin Colbert and the Steelers. Maybe Bell's career doesn't drop off right away. Maybe he still ends up as the same player he was over his five seasons. Maybe Bell takes his payday, coasts into mediocrity and the Steelers are weighed down with an albatross of a contract.
The 2018 Steelers were not far from being one of the best teams in the AFC. The team's three losses in December were each by only three points. A win in just one of those games puts the Steelers in line to win the AFC North.
Regardless of the holes that existed on the roster, including the gaping hole on defense left by the Ryan Shazier tragedy from the year before, there's reason to believe the Steelers are a stronger team in 2018 with Bell.
"Whether you think we were strong or not, you didn't get a chance to see that," Foster said.
That's the tragedy -- and Bell realizes it too. "For soo many reasons." It's not just the money he turned down. And he may not have left the way Antonio Brown did -- burning more bridges than you can count in Pittsburgh. His regret includes another missed opportunity to win and -- perhaps more importantly -- leave a better legacy behind.
