Steelers’ Bell back on field with chip on his shoulder
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell runs the ball during practice Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell, center, warms up during practice Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger sprinted out the doors to the practice fields behind the Rooney Sports Complex as if he were coming out of the tunnel prior to the Super Bowl.
“New year baby,” Roethlisberger yelled to nobody in particular. “Let’s go.”
It was a display of enthusiasm not typically seen from the veteran quarterback but one that belied his excitement regarding the upcoming season.
And why not? For a team that came within a whisker of reaching the AFC Championship game last season without All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell and All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers have to feel very good right now.
Both Bell and Pouncey were on the field Tuesday as the Steelers opened their non-mandatory OTAs and the addition of two of the team’s best players back into the equation brought a little pep into everyone’s step.
The Steelers were confident Pouncey would be ready to return to the practice field at this point after missing the entire season with a fractured lower leg suffered in the team’s second preseason game last August.
But having Bell back on the field – even though he was just cleared to do positional drills – was a bonus. General manager Kevin Colbert previously would not put a timetable on Bell’s return from a torn MCL suffered in a Week 8 game against Cincinnati, saying he might not be available until after training camp begins.
Bell, who said his surgically repaired MCL feels “normal,” expects to be ready before that.
“For sure,” Bell said.
And he has a bone to pick with the Cincinnati Bengals and, more specifically, linebacker Vontaze Burfict.
Bell was injured on a tackle by Burfict in the first half of their game Nov. 1 at Heinz Field.
As Bell lie on the ground, Burfict ran back to his teammates, celebrating the play, angering the Steelers.
Bell said he received a digital message earlier this year from Burfict saying he was happy Bell was back running again, but that the incident showed him a different side to football.
“I take the liberty to thinking that everybody plays football just for love of the game,” Bell said. “But people aren’t out here playing like that, people are out here to try to really take people out, so obviously I know that now.
“I wish I wasn’t ignorant of that fact before but now I just know I just have to take extra precaution of getting down or protecting myself because people are actually trying to take me out of the game. I’ll just make sure I protect myself.”
It wasn’t the only time Burfict knocked a Pittsburgh player out of a game last season. He also hit All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown with a shoulder to the head in the Steelers’ playoff win at Cincinnati, helping to set up the game-winning field goal. Brown suffered a concussion and was unable to play the following week in the team’s playoff loss at Denver.
Burfict was suspended for three games by the NFL following the hit on Brown for multiple infractions.
But Bell said Tuesday Burfict wasn’t the only player attempting to hurt him. Nor did he limit those actions to just the Bengals, intimating Baltimore and Cleveland attempted to do so as well.
“I don’t think it was just him, I feel like the whole team was really out there trying to twist my ankles and do little dirty stuff in between the piles,” Bell said. “I feel there’s lot of teams that do that, try to take me out of the game. A lot of teams in our division play the same way.”
Last season marked the second year in a row Bell was unavailable to the Steelers heading into the playoffs. In 2014, he suffered a sprained knee in Week 17 when Cincinnati safety Reggie Nelson went low on him in the open field after Bell made a catch.
Bell said last August he never truly felt 100 percent after that injury, but noted he feels much better now than he did a year ago.
“The last knee injury, I didn’t have surgery. I didn’t rehab it. I just kind of let it happen, let it go how it went,” he said. “This year, I had the surgery and I had to rehab. I feel like once it’s time to go, I’ll be 100 percent. I’m out here without a knee brace or a knee sleeve. When September gets here, I’ll be even better than I am now.”
Considering the 24-year-old has gained 2,907 yards from scrimmage and scored 14 touchdowns in 22 games over the past two seasons, that can’t be comforting to future opponents.
“Really good. Really good,” said Roethlisberger when asked how Bell looked. “I was excited to have him back out there and excited to get him playing real football.”
Odds and end zones
The Steelers, who open training camp Aug. 28, will host to joint practices with the Detroit Lions Aug. 9 and 10 at Saint Vincent College before the teams meet for their preseason opener Aug. 12 at Heinz Field. … Former Steelers guard Alan Faneca is serving as an assistant coach with the team at OTAs and through training camp. … The Steelers had 89 of 90 players at the facility Tuesday, with the only missing player being Brown, who was still fulfilling commitments for “Dancing With the Stars.”