As usual, Bell/Bryant drama signals start of another Steelers season
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Players reported to Saint Vincent College on Thursday, an annual tradition for the team. However, there’s another set of news that’s nearly becoming an annual tradition in its own right: the drama surrounding Steelers players Le’Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant.
Going back two years to the start of the 2015 season, both Steelers stars found themselves sidelined with suspensions. Le’Veon Bell was cast aside for four games following his 2014 incident involving then Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount, where the former was slapped with DUI and marijuana possession charges. The suspension was later reduced to three games and then to two games following a successful appeal.
Bryant was tagged with a four-game suspension at the start of the same season as well, for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The receiver spent his time off with ex-NBA coach John Lucas at a rehabilitation center in Houston, Texas. The relationship made headlines as Lucas battled substance abuse during his career and turned his personal experience into programs to help others, such as Bryant, rehabilitate.
Though 2015 started off with rocky news, all was forgotten by the time the end of the season. Yet, it didn’t take long for Bell’s and Bryant’s name to surface near the start of the NFL offseason. On March 14th, 2016, Bryant again violated the league’s substance abuse policy. It was announced he would be suspended for the entire 2016 season.
A few months later in June, local Pittsburgh radio shock jock Mark Madden went public with a claim that Le’Veon Bell skipped a drug test and would be facing a suspension. More news trickled out but nothing concrete was decided until mid-August. On August 19th, 2016, it was officially announced that Bell would be suspended for the first three games of the regular season.
Fast forward to 2017 and once again there’s controversy surrounding both players, albeit for different reasons. Bryant was conditionally reinstated by the NFL on April 25th of this year, pending a “treating clinician” before he could practice or play in games.
The keyword being “before”, as it appears three months later the league still hasn’t put their rubber stamp on a full Martavis return. If the Le’Veon Bell situation from 2016 is an indication, the league’s front office will take their good ol’ time sucking any time Bryant could have to train alongside his teammates.
I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes, but even I can understand how a regular routine might be better for Bryant, instead of making a guy who’s already served his “time”, serve even more.
On the other side of the equation, Le’Veon Bell is a no-show for training camp as had been speculated earlier this month when he and the Steelers failed to come to an agreement on a long-term contract. Bell is currently tendered under the franchise tag by Pittsburgh; he will either sign his tag and play for $12 million or completely sit out this season.
But until Bell signs, he’s under no obligation to attend practices that are otherwise mandatory for other players at Saint Vincent’s.
Thus we have yet another season, a third in a row, where there is some sort of turmoil surrounding the two star Steelers. Unlike previous seasons, the drama is a bit toned down, as both are expected to be ready for the regular season. However, that hasn’t toned down the panic of their offseason preparation being null and void as the team begins their practice sessions on Friday.
One comforting thought is knowing that Bell’s situation is entirely in his own hands. However, a discomforting feeling is knowing Bryant’s situation, aside from staying out of trouble, is out of his control. His fate lies in the hands of the Commissioner’s office, and we can only hope that when the stuff that really counts starts up (regular season games) that both players are finally available at the same time for the opening week of the season.
