The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t waste much time getting rid of anything Le’Veon Bell left behind.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was in the Steelers’ locker room when teammates of the running back raided his locker after Bell failed to report to the team’s 4 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday, making him ineligible to play the remainder of the NFL season. Bell and Pittsburgh’s have been on the rocks since the back was hit with a franchise tag prior to the preseason, and Bell as a result elected to not report altogether.
The 26-year-old ignored quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s text message wishing him well, while other teammates were sick of his holdout long before Tuesday’s deadline. And now that it’s official he won’t be joining the Steelers at all this season, the rest of the black and yellow made sure no trace of Bell was left in their locker room.
Steelers players removed Le’Veon Bell’s name over his locker and are now plundering it, dividing up his many football shoes and other stuff
— Ed Bouchette (@XRuleExecutive) November 14, 2018
Also found in Bell's locker: A mixtape CD labeled 'Le'Veon Bell #1." The raid seemed more playful than malicious, from my view.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 14, 2018
Pittsburgh linebacker Bud Dupree seemed grateful to Bell for what he left behind, looking into a camera and thanking him for the Jordan cleats.
Bell’s locker remained untouched over the course of the season, but once the bridge likely was burned on him donning the No. 26 for the Steelers in the future, the Steelers made sure to end what was left of the relationship on their terms.
Hey, finders keepers, right?
