Le’Veon Bell, a former All-Pro running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is now a professional boxer but has expressed a desire to play football again. Bell played for four different teams during the previous two seasons, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played in five games for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 but did not play in the NFL in 2020. Bell wants to show what he can do on the football field before officially ending his pro career. He hopes to do so with the Steelers, the team where he started his career a decade ago.
As per the analysis by CBS Sports, former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell has expressed interest in returning to the NFL for one last chance to show what he can do on the football field. Bell, who is now 31 years old, has been focusing on his career as a professional boxer since leaving the league.
Bell played for four different teams during the previous two seasons, including the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but did not receive a snap during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers in 2020. He played in five games for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021, but did not play in the NFL last year.
Despite his recent focus on boxing, Bell has stated that he wants to retire with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he began his pro career a decade ago. He said on the “Steel Here” podcast, “The day when I do retire, it is going to be with Pittsburgh. Before I do that, I may be like, hey, let me get a couple of carries in the preseason so I can show y’all something.”
Bell quickly established himself as a versatile playmaker in Pittsburgh after being drafted in the second round out of Michigan State in 2013. He earned his first All-Pro nod in 2014 and helped the Steelers return to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus. In 2016, he won team MVP honors for a second time after leading the Steelers to within a game of the Super Bowl and setting franchise single-game, regular-season, and postseason rushing records.
However, Bell held out during the 2017 training camp over a contract dispute and was ultimately released by the Steelers in 2019. He signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the New York Jets that offseason but was released during the 2020 season after receiving just over half of that contract.
Last year, Bell said that he would return to play for a team that would give him a shot at winning a Super Bowl. Now, he hopes to get one last chance to prove himself on the football field before retiring with the Steelers.
It remains to be seen if Bell will get that chance, but his desire to return to the NFL shows that he still has a passion for the game. Fans will have to wait and see if he is able to make a comeback and make an impact on the field once again.
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