Steelers' O-line blasts Bell for holdout: 'Just sit out the whole year'
Le'Veon Bell's teammates have finally run out of patience as the Pittsburgh Steelers running back continues his holdout with the regular season scheduled to get underway this week.
Although quarterback Ben Roethlisberger expressed optimism about the team's offense without Bell early Wednesday, several offensive linemen blasted the running back for his prolonged absence.
"What do you do? Here's a guy who doesn't give a damn, I guess, so we'll treat it as such. I just hate it came to this," guard Ramon Foster said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette.
"He's making seven times what I make, twice as much as Al (Villanueva) is making, and we're the guys who do it for him," Foster added.
Ramon Foster on Bell turning down nearly $1M a week to not be here: "In the ultimate team sport we’ve created a league of individuals."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 5, 2018
Center Maurkice Pouncey called Bell's absence "bigger than business." He also said it was stupid for Bell to follow his agent's suggestion to wait for the Steelers to declare their plans for him this year before he signs.
"Why play hide and seek? Why let your agent say this? Just man up and tell us what you're going to do," Pouncey said, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala.
"The business part ... I get it. But not if it's game day. We have a game this Sunday, we're all the way into the game plan, and you're still not here?" he added, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
The 29-year-old center also suggested Bell should sit out and miss 10 games since he's already continued his holdout this long.
"Honestly it's a little selfish. I'm kinda pissed right now. It sucks that he's not here. We'll move on as a team. It doesn't look like he'll be in the game plan (for Week 1) at this point. (James) Conner looks great. We'll worry about him in Week 2," Pouncey said, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Tim Benz.
Guard David DeCastro joined the chorus, saying Bell made his teammates look stupid.
"Just sit out the whole year then," DeCastro advised Bell, per The Athletic's Mark Kaboly.
Bell was given the franchise tag for a second consecutive year, which is valued at $14.54 million for the 2018 season. Although his teammates once had his back, it appears that they've finally grown tired of Bell's antics with their season opener against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday taking precedence.