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PITTSBURGH – At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Le'Veon Bell's locker was a perfect time capsule of what could have been. Neatly stacked with shoes, cleats and apparel practice, it was a picture of hopefulness, just waiting for the All-Pro running back to stroll through that door and follow up.
But he never did. And by 3:30 p.m. – roughly 24 hours after Bell dropped out of his team – his remaining possessions were being plundered like a scene from "Lord of the Flies."
"Awww, they're ransacking his locker," guard Ramon Foster said from across the room.
Le'Veon Bell got no sympathy from his Steeler teammates on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
This was what the last moments of the Le'Veon Bell divorce looked like inside the Steelers' locker room. Months of frustrated half-life with a free-for-all, with Bell's pristine locker becoming the target. First, the nameplate vanished. Soon, Jordan brand cleats came and went, others with an armful. Sneakers? Gone. A few mix tape CDs were appropriated. Shirts and other articles of clothing were picked over. At one point, a player held a hanger to the auctioneer presenting an item in a fire sale.
"Anyone want a suit?"
Some people nearby laughed and looked at each other, as if to say, "He's joking … right?"
Steelers players went into Le'Veon Bell's locker, removing his nameplate and rummaging through items. Bud Dupree says thanks for the Jordan brand cleats. pic.twitter.com/gQaAu9hUPd
– Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 14, 2018
It was not restricted to the locker room. With Bell refusing to report, $ 14.5 million in salary-cap space became available on Tuesday. Space that can be used on a contract immediately or offseason. Drew Rosenhaus, who said he was there to "visit with the team." Rosenhaus has multiple Steelers players on his client roster – some of whom will be open to talking extensions this offseason. So surely "visiting the team" is another way to say "take a stab at some of that newly available money."
Simply put, Bell's cleats were not the only thing for grabs Wednesday. His money was, too.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "This was NFL Darwinism. fittest, but also survival of the present and accounted for. Bell was not present. And by the sounds of how, he was really counted for, he. Teammates reached out and got no reply. When the reporting time expired and Bell was officially done for 2018, he was returned to Pittsburgh from Miami, where he spent most of his holdout. In a way, it felt like a final half-in-and-half-out tease. "Data-reactid =" 46 "> This was NFL Darwinism. present and accounted for. Bell was not present. And by the sounds of how, he was really counted for, he. Teammates reached out and got no reply. When the reporting time expired and Bell was officially done for 2018, he was returned to Pittsburgh from Miami, where he spent most of his holdout. In a way, it felt like a final half-in-and-half-out tease.
"I texted him [Tuesday] before the deadline, telling him I was hoping he was going to show up, "he said," I wish him nothing but the best, "Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "He was a great teammate and a great football player. To each one they want to walk away from. "
Did Bell text back?
"Nope," Roethlisberger said.
That lack of communication has been a big part of the subtext in Bell's Divorce from this Steelers franchise. He did not just skip a season – he skipped out with a majority of the roster, and basically the entire front office and coaching staff. And it would be wrong to assume that it was not a residue of hurt. After all, Bell and the Steelers did some great things together. And they still might have gotten to the mountaintop together in 2018. Instead, the only mountain they have had is the stack of items that they have had in their teammates.
It's that kind of disappointment that lends itself to some nuanced shade. Like when Steelers are asked if they could skip their entire season – for any reason – and they would like that question into a lesson on battle-tested fellowship.
"[Skipping a season] would be tough, "Roethlisberger said. "Part of the great thing about this sport is this band of brothers and this group of guys in here. Being with them is kind of what keeps me coming back after so many years, too. But like I said, to each their own. Each guy has their own motives and motivations. I can not comment on [Le’Veon]. I am glad that we will not talk about this anymore, though. "
Not talking about it "anymore" is a stretch. Some anger and disappointment. Some sense of abandonment. And more than anything, unanswered questions. The kind of questions and unknowns that end up sprouting theories in the hallways of the franchise. There's no shortage of those inside the Steelers, by the way.
Ben Roethlisberger, pictured with Le'Veon Bell in 2016, is still awaiting a text reply from his teammate. (AP)
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Musings such as: Maybe Bell did not show Maybe he knew Pittsburgh was going to apply for an exemption allowing him to join the team this week. Maybe he took time off and realized that he was enjoying not playing football. Maybe he was listening to the wrong people. They could not have been a fan of NFL players revolting against a franchise they could not have done so much. "Data-reactid =" 78 "> Musings such as: Maybe Bell did not show up at the deadline because he was Maybe he knew Pittsburgh was going to apply for an exemption allowing him to take a break. not playing football. Maybe he was listening to the wrong people. Or maybe he has been fashioned as a martyr who could forever represent NFL players revolting against a franchise tag they so clearly hate.
Whatever, Steelers players have not been left with answers. To the point that even Wednesday, some of Bell 's longtime teammates still had no clue why he had chosen to tweet "fairwell" to Miami and then return to Pittsburgh this week – only to skip Tuesday' s reporting deadline.
"It was a little bit of trolling, it seemed, by saying farewell and stuff, but it did not matter," Foster said. "Because you can tell, we've been a little bit of a roll. We've played ball. James [Conner] has done his job so far. … I guess [Bell] just had his own thing going on. No communication. No, nobody has [spoken with him]. "
Time will tell if that changes. Or if some questions get answered and fences get mended. There's every chance that this divorce will get worse before it gets better, especially if the Steelers win another Super Bowl this season without Bell on the roster. Which they could, given how much the franchise is humming along at the moment.
But at least, this is the first time that you have done this: it's unlikely he'll ever see a lot of that sneaker swag that was being asked by teammates; and everyone inside this franchise is ready to move on, even if some lingering questions about Bell's decision.
"Talk about the 53 [players] in here, "Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward said Wednesday. "The guys that are coming in [every day]. That's all we can control. It sucks when a guy does not answer his own questions. But if they're not on the team, I'm not worried about it. … I'm not going to cry over spilled milk. We've got able guys. If one guy's not here, that's not stopping the goal. The team moves on. "
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