Le'Veon Bell says he 'might come back' for one game on the Steelers, then retire

Before former Pittsburgh Steelers star Le’Veon Bell retires he wants to take a few more carries. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since Jan. 9, 2022, the final week of the regular season in the 2021 campaign.

But the former star running back thinks he can still lace ’em up and suit up one more time before he retires officially.

Speaking on the Steel Here podcast recently, Bell noted he wants to retire a member of the Steelers, possibly doing so with one final send-off where he takes a few touches out of the backfield.

“The day when I do retire, it is going to be with Pittsburgh,” Le’Veon Bell said. “Before I do that, I may be like, ‘Hey, let me get a couple of carries in the preseason so I can show y’all something.’”

Bell could certainly tote the rock back in his heyday in Pittsburgh.

He was a first-team All-Pro in 2014, and he made three Pro Bowls while with the Steelers. The Steelers were the NFL team that took Bell in the 2013 NFL Draft, spending a second-round pick on him. They certainly got their money’s worth.

Bell topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2014, 2016 and 2017 in Pittsburgh. He finished second in the league in rushing in 2014, third in 2017 and fifth in 2016.

In 10 years in the league, Bell amassed 6,554 yards rushing and 42 touchdowns. He also accounted for 3,289 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.

Of those figures, 5,336 of his rushing yards and 2,660 receiving yards came while Bell was in Pittsburgh. So it’s only natural that Le’Veon Bell would want to retire with Pittsburgh, the team that gave him his start and produced his best years as a pro.

His time in Pittsburgh ended when the Steelers attempted to place the franchise tag on him for the second straight year in 2018. Bell refused to sign the franchise tag and ended up sitting out the entire 2018 season as a result.

Eventually he became a free agent and signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the New York Jets. The Jets released Bell midway through his second season on that deal.

He then spent one year with Kansas City and less than a year with Baltimore and Tampa Bay, where he played his final game about a year and a half ago.

Bell was a standout in college at Michigan State, where he ran for 3,346 yards and 33 touchdowns before entering the 2013 NFL Draft following his junior season.