The Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best offenses in the NFL during the Killer B's era during the mid to late 2010s. The B's were quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and running back Le'Veon Bell. Sadly the trio, along with the rest of the team, never made it to a Super Bowl as a unit. The three went their separate ways in 2019 when Brown was traded to the then-Oakland Raiders and Bell left in free agency for the New York Jets.

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During the days of the Steelers' elite offensive trio, touted as the Killer B's, the defense became one of the worst in football.
Unfortunately for Bell and Brown, they were never able to recapture the magic they had in Pittsburgh, despite Brown winning a Super Bowl during his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These two had some of the saddest exits from professional sports of almost any player, sans catastrophic injury. Once Brown was no longer under the Steelers umbrella, his true colors began to show and he created drama and chaos everywhere he went. Bell's ego was never satisfied with his playing time or the way he was utilized. After two seasons with the Jets, Bell went to a different team every year for three years - Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay.

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Antonio Brown stripped off his uniform and left the field in dramatic fashion after a disagreement during a game in Tampa.
Now Bell is 31, Brown is 35, and both talk about how they could still play in the NFL if they were given the chance. Bell was reunited with Brown during his season with the Buccaneers in 2021. He says now that he was hoping to be able to finally get a Super Bowl win by working with quarterback Tom Brady. However, he only played three total games and caught just one touchdown. The Buccaneers released him in January of 2022. Brown showed himself to the door after having an on-field freak out during their Week 17 game and was also released by the team in January of 2022.
Former Steelers Great Le'Veon Bell Said He's NFL Game Ready
Recently, Bell appeared on the podcast It Is What It Is and was asked about his retirement. Since leaving football Bell has been focused on his boxing career. He said in the past that he would welcome a return to Pittsburgh. Despite leaving the Steel City in a bit of a huff, he has since made nice with Steelers fans and apologized, going so far as to admit he made a mistake by not working out a deal.
One of the show's hosts, rapper Cam'ron Giles brought up the fact that the Cleveland Browns recently signed running back Kareem Hunt out of retirement. Hunt was drafted by the Chiefs in 2017, but was released in 2019 after a video of him physically assaulting a woman came to light. He was never charged with a crime and was signed by the Browns in February 2019.

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Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell was one of the best players in the NFL at securing yards after the catch.
During his time in Cleveland, he served an eight-game suspension for violating the league's conduct policy for the assault incident. He also suffered multiple injuries including a hernia and a calf injury. When he was on the field, Hunt proved to be an effective and dangerous running back.
After serving as the backup to Nick Chubb in 2021, Hunt requested a trade in 2022. Despite meeting with several teams, he was not signed to a contract and did not play at the start of the season. Now with the devastating injury to Chubb, the Browns have phoned their old friend and brought him back on a one-year $4 million contract.

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The Browns have brought back running back Kareem Hunt to fill the void left by Nick Chubb's injury.
When Giles mentions to Bell that Hunt was just signed off the street, Bell is shocked. He said he thought that Hunt had just been there in Cleveland lingering in the background. Bell was asked if his boxing workouts keep him in football shape. Bell doesn't hesitate to blow his own horn.
"I know I'm in better shape than Kareem Hunt is."
Giles mentioned that in his mind, at 31 years old, Bell is really only 27 or 28 years old in "running back age" since he hit pause on his career a few years ago. While different sports require different kinds of training, Giles said he knows that if Bell is in boxing shape, then he is in peak condition. If they can pick a guy like Hunt up off the street and play him, does Bell think he could do that same thing if he got the call?
"I do and I think I still could play at a very high level. Like as high as I ever played because of the way my body feels. People don't understand what healing can actually do - time off and actually healing your body. Football puts so much on your body, know what I'm saying?"
Bell said that he regrets not always taking better care of his body. He said that as he has gotten older, he has learned what he needs to do to stay in peak physical condition. For that reason, he is more ready to play than he was when he was a bit younger.
"Even that time off, when I had my hold out, I wasn't really taking care of my body. Not just because I wasn't at practice every day or I didn't have games. I still should have been getting my massages. I still should have been getting my treatments and still be taking care of my body. But I wasn't. Now I'm taking care of my body every single day."
Of course, when Bell was with the Steelers, he was the type of player who could back up his smack talk for the most part. It presents an interesting question, the peak age for a running back is generally considered to be 22-28 years old. However, there are always outliers to this, LaDainian Tomlinson had 481.1 points per reception (PPR) in fantasy football at the age of 27 and Priest Holmes at age 30 had 445 PPR.

Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes was unusual because he got better as his career went on, not retiring until he was 34.
What do you think about Bell returning to the NFL? Do you think he is in peak physical condition? Could he just step onto the field like Hunt and play? Click to comment below.
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