Aug 19, 2016 6 min read

PITTSBURGH – The NFL suspended Steelers All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell Friday for the first three games of the regular season for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Bell, who is entering his fourth season with the Steelers, reportedly missed a mandatory drug test during the offseason, which counts as a failed test under the terms of the NFL’s drug policy. He had been facing as much as a four-game suspension for this latest violation but the league board of appeals and NFL Playes Association agreed to a reduced sentence.

“We are disappointed Le’Veon Bell has been suspended three games to start the 2016 season,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement. “We will continue to support Le’Veon, but we acknowledge this mistake has put the team in an unfortunate position. We will continue to work with Le’Veon to help him eliminate distractions in his life so he can reach his full potentional as a member of our community as well as a player for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

This is the second consecutive season Bell, 24, has been suspended. He was placed in the drug abuse program following a traffic stop in 2014 during which he was cited for marijuana possession and driving under the influence. That resulted in Bell being suspended for the first three games last season. It was later reduced to two games upon appeal.

Bell plead guilty to the charges and served his probation. The incident has been expunged from his record.

He will miss the Steelers’ games against Washington, Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and be eligible to return to practice Sept. 26. He will be eligible to play in Week 4 against Kansas City.

Bell will be free to continue practicing with the Steelers until the NFL cuts its rosters to 53 players Sept. 3. At that point he can be placed on the suspended list and will not count against the roster.

In a statement via his Instagram feed, Bell apologized for “everything I’ve put you through the last couple of years.”

“I’ve never purposely missed any tests. I’ve never failed any tests,” Bell said in a post that was later deleted. “I had surgery in Novemeber of last year. They tried to test me in November and December and missed those tests. I couldn’t make it to the facility to get tested and they couldn’t come to me and I missed those tests. I put all the blame on myself. In April, they tried to test me on a Saturday at 7 a.m. and I was sleeping. I can’t put the blame on anyone but me.

“I never purposely tried to avoid or evade any tests. After this situation is done, you will get a better person and a better player.”

Bell has rushed for 2,777 yards in 35 career games, also catching 152 passes for an 1,389 yards.

In 2014, he set a team record with an AFC-best 2,215 yards from scrimmage. His average of 119 total yards per game is the most in the NFL since 2013, when the Steelers selected him in the second round of the draft out of Michigan State.

Bell also has ended the past two seasons on the sidelines after being injured.

In 2014, he suffered a sprained knee in the regular-season finale against Cincinnati and missed a playoff loss to Baltimore. Last season, he suffered a torn MCL in an early Novemeber game against the Bengals and missed the rest of the season.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has not played Bell during the preseason, including a 17-0 loss Thursday night to the Philadelphia Eagles. Bell, who had surgery to repair the MCL, did not miss a practice during Pittsburgh’s recently completed training camp at Saint Vincent College.

Bell initially maintained that he would be exonerated once the league heard his appeal but refused to talk about the issue on the first day of training camp after apologizing for being a distraction to his teammates.

Bell also wrote about the issue on his Instagram account, saying, “I’m not going to miss games trust me.”

NFL.com reported that because the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a reduced suspension for Bell, if he were to have another strike in the substance abuse program it would trigger a four-game suspension. Under former rules, which were renegotiated in 2015, Bell would have been facing a 10-game suspension.

The running back will, however, lose $170,000 of his $967,000 salary.

Without Bell, the Steelers will lean heavily on 33-year-old veteran running back DeAngelo Williams, who rushed for 907 yards and scored an AFC-best 11 rushing touchdowns last season.

While the Steelers have clarity on the situation with Bell, they hope to soon know whether they will have the services of outside linebacker James Harrison.

Harrison and other players named in an Al Jazeera America report last December for being involved with the use of performance enhancing drugs all have agreed to meet with NFL investigators.

Harrison, who has maintained his innocence regarding a statement made by Charles Sly, an intern at an Indianapolis-based anti-aging clinic, received a letter from the NFL earlier this week that stated he, Green Bay linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and free agent Mike Neal each would face suspension if they continued to fail to meet with the league.

Sly, who was secretly taped for the report, said he had lied about the allegations, which also included quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning has since been cleared by the NFL of any wrongdoing.

Harrison’s interview will take place next weekend via video conference call.

“They are asking me about PEDs, so ask away,” said Harrison, who also called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a crook. “I never took a PED in my life. I never failed a drug test. Whatever evidence they think they have or reasoning for questioning me is out of my control.”

The 38-year-old Harrison is likely heading into his final season and didn’t want to miss any playing time.

“The bigger outcome wasn’t really worth it,” Harrison said. “I wouldn’t be on the team. It would hurt the team. It would hurt my teammates and coaches. It was easier to do the interview, I guess.”

Center Cody Wallace suffered a hyperextended knee late in Thursday night’s game and it could keep him out of the Steelers’ preseason game Friday at New Orleans. … The Steelers return to practice today at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Now that the team has left Saint Vincent College, practices are no longer open to the public.