PITTSBURGH — Le'Veon Bell played in the NFL the past three years, but it didn't feel like it. And the running back who became known for his patient style and vision took a while to get here, but is admitting that his career was never the same after the 2018 campaign in which he opted to sit out the entire season instead of playing for the Steelers.
In a lengthy Instagram missive Wednesday evening, Bell — who turned 30 in February — essentially announced his retirement from football in favor of pursuing a boxing career. Bell didn't use that word, but he wrote that it's "time for me to move on with my next chapter of life." What's more interesting is how he framed his acrimonious exit from Pittsburgh.
"The NFL has done great things for me, & I truly appreciated every single year of my NFL journey ... obviously, I (we, whoever) wish things would've played out differently in 2018," Bell posted.
He added that if he "had a time machine to go back to 2018, that would be so litttt for so many reasons but I don't."
Bell was, as he put it, "on top of the world" back then, coming off an All-Pro selection in 2017 after racking up 1,291 yards rushing and 655 yards receiving. He led the NFL with 406 touches on a one-year franchise tag contract that paid him $12.1 million, and life was good for both him and the Steelers.
In case you forgot, the team wanted him to play another season on the tag worth $14.5 million, or sign a longer-term deal reportedly worth $14 million annually over five years. Bell declined both, instead holding out for more money, and eventually he skipped that season entirely.
The Steelers moved on, allowing Bell to become a free agent, and he ended up signing a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets. He rushed for just 789 yards and three touchdowns with 66 catches for 461 yards, and the Jets released him midway through his second season there.
Bell has spoken since then about how close he was to taking the Steelers' offer, sometimes sounding regretful but other times defiant. Wednesday's farewell to football makes it sound more like the former than the latter, and the next stop on his journey is a celebrity boxing match July 30 against a fellow All-Pro running back, 37-year-old Adrian Peterson.
"It's not about the money for me, it's about proving to MYSELF & showing the world that I'm not done yet," wrote Bell, who had forgettable stints with Kansas City, Baltimore and Tampa Bay since his Jets tenure went south.
And as he exits the NFL, he at least got to sneak in one of former coach Mike Tomlin's favorite expressions for old time's sake. Bell admitted there were "moments where I felt alone, betrayed, disrespected, or used."
"It definitely didn't make me feel the best, but I never blinked."
