Le’Veon Bell Reportedly Expected to Join Steelers Wednesday After Holdout

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Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly expect running back Le’Veon Bell to rejoin the team Wednesday following a holdout that extended through the end of the preseason. 

Appearing on the NFL GameDay season preview Tuesday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said Bell’s “teammates believe that he is gonna be there on Wednesday.” Rapoport added, “that is what everyone believes—except there’s no guarantee he actually shows up.” 

There was an expectation Bell would report to the Steelers on Monday, but he swiftly dispelled that notion with a single tweet. 

General manager Kevin Colbert later released a statement saying the organization was “disappointed” he hadn’t returned to the club. 

TribLive.com’s Joe Rutter previously circled Wednesday as Bell’s most logical report date because players were off Tuesday. 

“I hadn’t thought about it. We’ll see,” head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters when asked about Bell possibly reporting Wednesday, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette. “When he gets here, that’s when we’ll start.”

If Bell doesn’t report and fails to sign his $14.5 million franchise tag, he will forfeit $855,000 a week in game checks.