Thank You, Le'Veon

By Jacob Jensen

SteelerNation.com

After what seemed like an endless saga that’s been going on for the past three off-seasons, running back Le’Veon Bell is no longer a Steeler. Bell has been a fixture in the Pittsburgh backfield since 2013, and it’s sad to see him go. In his tenure, the Steelers have been to the playoffs four times, and won the division three times. Now that it’s been a couple weeks since he’s moved on, I think it’s important for Steelers Nation to appreciate what he has done for the franchise and give thanks.

There has been a lot of anger from Steelers fans over the course of the three year saga of trying to lock him up long term, but I think it’s time to put that at rest. As much as I wanted the Steelers and Bell to agree to a long term deal, I understand why it fell through. He wanted guarantees and the Steelers don’t give out a lot of guarantees, for fear that an injury might handicap the franchise financially down the road. For Bell, he wanted guarantees so he and his family would be financially set, and that is understandable. Over the past couple of weeks, Bell has been showing Steeler Nation love on Twitter. It’s shown me that he really does love the fans, so I think it’s important to remember some of his best moments with the Steelers.

On September 29th 2013, Bell played his first game with the Steelers and scored 2 touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Also that year in week 16, Bell had a great game versus the Green Bay Packers and went for 26 carries and 124 yards. This game is important to me because that was my first Steelers game, and him leaping over a Packer's defender is still etched in my brain. In 2014, Bell helped lead the Steelers to an AFC North title and made the Pro Bowl in the process. He was 2nd in rushing yards that year. Bells 2015 season was cut short due to an injury, but he still made an impact when he had the walk off touchdown versus the Chargers in week 5. In 2016 Bell lead the Steelers to another AFC North championship and helped them win two playoff games. The 2017 Steelers had the best record during Bells tenure going 13-3, and winning another AFC North title.

Thank you Le’Veon for putting your health on the line for us for the past six years and thank you for helping the Steelers accomplish all that they have since you’ve been here. Thank you for always staying positive and being a good teammate. Thank you for not burning your bridge with Steeler Nation. I can’t say that I will be cheering for the Jets, but I will root for your success and health and maybe one day we can see you in the black and gold again. See you week 16.

#SteelerNation