Le’Veon Bell’s suspension for marijuana reduced from 3 to 2 games.
RB will be able to play Sept. 27 in St. Louis
Steelers halfback Le’Veon Bell’s season will start one week earlier than originally planned after the NFL reduced his suspension Tuesday from three games to two.
Bell will be eligible to play against the St. Louis Rams on the road Sept. 27. He will miss the opener at New England Sept. 10 and the home opener against San Francisco Sept. 20.
Bell can practice with the team until Sept. 6 and resume practice Sept. 21. He also can work out at the team’s facility during the suspension, something that was not previously permitted by the NFL
“As I have stated before, we were disappointed in Le’Veon Bell’s actions last August,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement issued by the team. “Le’Veon made a mistake and now he must learn from his mistake and focus on eliminating distractions from his life. We look forward to continuing to work with Le’Veon to try to help him reach his full poten-
potential as a person and as a player.”
Bell had appealed his three-game suspension and while it is not known what basis he and his representatives used in that meeting, Bell appeared to be caught between a previous drug policy and a new one the NFL adopted last September.
Bell was charged both with possession of marijuana and for a DUI because he was driving the vehicle with then-teammate LeGarrette Blount as a passenger. They were stopped by Ross police Aug. 20, hours before they were to board the Steelers charter at Pittsburgh International Airport for a flight to Philadelphia for the third preseason game.
Bell in February was admitted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for firsttime offenders that will lead to the marijuana charges and DUI filed against him being dismissed if successfully completed. However, the NFL considers that a plea bargain and those are considered convictions by the league.
Under the old NFL drug policy, a conviction for using marijuana could draw a one-game suspension, but a DUI would not. Under the new NFL drug policy adopted in September, using a small amount of marijuana would not draw a suspension for the first time, but a DUI would carry a two-game suspension.
Blount, who now plays for the New England Patriots, accepted the NFL’s one-game suspension without an apparent appeal. While Bell appealed, he has said many times that he would accept whatever discipline the NFL ultimately decided, most recently when he reported to training camp with his teammates Saturday.
“Whatever the consequence is, I’m just going to take it and move forward from it,” Bell said that day. “I have to go out there and take the good with the bad. I’ve got to learn from it and move on.”
Bell led the AFC with 1,361 yards rushing last season, his second with the Steelers, and earned All-Pro honors. He also had a team-record 83 receptions for another 854 yards. Those 2,215 yards combined set another team record.
The Steelers signed veteran halfback DeAngelo Williams as a free agent from Carolina.