Le’Veon Bell again appears to be in trouble with the NFL.
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back faces a four-game suspension for a missed drug test, ESPN reported Friday. Bell reportedly is in the process of appealing the ban. The appeal process, according to ESPN, is ongoing, and it’s unclear when it will be settled.
The NFL suspended Bell for the first three games of the 2015 season after he violated the league’s substance abuse policy stemming from a marijuana and DUI arrest in 2014. The suspension eventually was reduced to two games.
Bell returned and appeared in just six games before injuring his knee and missing the rest of the season. His status for the start of the 2016 season was in question, so that might make the suspension a little easier to take, if he can’t win his appeal.
When he’s actually on the field, Bell has proved to be one of the NFL’s better running backs. He had a breakout season in 2014, rushing for 1,361 yards on 290 carries while scoring eight touchdowns. He’s also a legitimate pass-catching threat out of the backfield, as evidenced by his 83 receptions and 854 receiving yards in that 2014 season.
In those six games last season, Bell averaged a career-high 4.9 yards per carry.
Coincidentally, Bell’s reported suspension comes just a few days after fellow Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams weighed in on the four-game suspension New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will serve for Deflategate.
“I am glad they’ve got problems,” Williams on Tuesday told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I don’t care. Everybody has their problems, and I am glad they have theirs.”
The Steelers likely will call on Williams to carry the load if Bell misses the first quarter of the season. The veteran back filled in nicely last season, leading the league with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
