Bell -- who continues to face a reported four-game suspension to start the upcoming season -- indicates that he feels as though he is past the right MCL and PCL issues that ended his 2015 campaign, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. "I feel like I am ready," Bell said. "I feel like I can go out there and get tackled or whatever it may be. As long as my knee doesn't swell and I don't have any setbacks, I plan to do more. My right leg feels crazy strong."
Analysis:
Bell, whose ACL was not impacted by the injury that ended his season in Week 8 last season, has worked his way back slowly and while his health is rounding into form to the point that he feels that he has got "all (his) speed back," questions continue to swirl surrounding his availability for the first four weeks of the season, as a result of the four-game suspension he reportedly faces for violating the NFL's drug policy. Per the report, Bell's appeal on that front is set to be heard within two weeks, after which fantasy owners should gain clarity with regard to the running back's early-season status. In the event that Bell is indeed required to sit out Pittsburgh's first four games in 2016, DeAngelo Williams would be in line to head the team's backfield out of the gate, with Fitzgerald Toussaint and Daryl Richardson candidates to back Williams up early on.
