Steelers' Le'Veon Bell Admits Ryan Shazier's Tragic Injury Affected The Biggest Decision Of His Career

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't been able to secure a playoff victory since the 2016 season. Despite having Ben Roethlisberger under center through the 2021 campaign, the team never found a way to make another run at a seventh Super Bowl championship. The rosters have been changed up quite a bit, and the organization only has one player that was drafted in the first round from 2011-2016 still on the team. As Cameron Heyward leads the way on the field for the franchise, many fans have certainly been left wondering how the super talented teams during Roethlisberger's final years couldn't hoist a Lombardi Trophy.

One of the defining stretches of the future Hall of Fame quarterback's career was when the Killer B’s were dominating opposing defenses. Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were arguably the best offensive trio in the NFL from 2013 to 2017. Unfortunately, Bell's 2018 contract dispute ended his time with the team, and Brown wasn't too far behind him after being traded during the 2019 offseason.

In a recent appearance on the Brian Hess Show, Bell spoke about his time with the Steelers. During his tenure, linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a career-ending injury on a scary hit that took place in 2017. The running back detailed that this tragic event is one of the biggest reasons why he decided to hold out the entirety of the 2018 campaign.

"That's what stamped it for me," Bell said when answering if Shazier's injury was a reason why he held out. "That's what solidified it for me. I think if that happens a year before I signed that franchise tag, I don't even put on the franchise tag."

Bell has often talked about regretting how his time with the Steelers ended, but he has really never gotten into the Shazier play affecting his decision-making at that time. What the ball-carrier saw firsthand would change his mindset when it came to wanting to solidify his financial future.

"Don't get me wrong, you play football, and I played football my whole life, you know it's a possibility of this happening, but you've never seen it happen, and I've never seen it happen [before Shazier]," Bell said. "I literally seen it happen. I remember on that play, I was watching [Shazier], on that play, that particular play. I remember being on the sideline and before the play start, I remember watching Shazier in his stance."

Shazier tried to make some sort of NFL comeback, but his injury was too severe for that to ever come to fruition. Bell's explanation of why he decided that he wanted guaranteed money past the first year of his extension should resonate. He realized that at any point, a career could come to a screeching hault.

The Killer B’s era ended rather abruptly, but Bell's departure probably could have been avoided had the team decided to give one of the league's best running backs at the time guaranteed cash after year one of a new deal. Bell was looking out for his future and wanted to know that he had financial stability regardless of what could have happened on the football field.

Bell never quite found his footing with any of the other franchises he played for, which is why he may have a little regret about not figuring it out with the Steelers. Overall, however, he had a good reason for wanting to feel a little more comfortable when it came to his financial guarantees.

Steelers Likely Could Have Won A Super Bowl With Roethlisberger, Bell And Brown

One of the more unfortunate occurrences in the last decade or so for Pittsburgh was the downfall of the Killers B’s. The trio was extremely fun to watch, but a contract dispute, along with Brown's selfishness, led to the group splitting up. The numbers they put up were phenomenal, and all the team needed was one healthy and dominant postseason run to bring the Steel City a seventh Lombardi Trophy.

Do you think that the Steelers should have given Bell guaranteed money past the first year of his proposed extension back in 2018? Let us know in the comments below!

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