Bell expected to report on Labor Day
2017 season opener in Cleveland. But Bell showed up at the team’s South Side facility three days earlier to take a physical, and it’s possible he will do the same this week.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasted little time inserting his All-Pro running back into the lineup, starting him against the Browns. Bell carried 10 times for 32 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards.
A week later, Bell got his usual workload against the Minnesota Vikings, touching the ball 31 times, including 27 rushesfor 87 yards, but he did not rush for more than 100 yards until the fourth game of the season against the Ravens,when he had 144.
Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner has some decisions to make. He could give Bell his usual workload in the opener against the Browns in hopes of knocking the rust off earlier and avoiding another slow start. Or, he could split the carries between Bell and James Conner, who has performed well in training camp and the first three preseason games, until he feels comfortable Bell is readyfor his usual workload.
“That’s a hard question because it’s Le’Veon,” Fichtner said. “You’d like to think that he’ll be in good shape. But we’ll have to evaluate where he’s at — conditioning, health, things like that. Using him in the best way to help us win early will be the most important thing. There will be some things he can do that quite frankly most people who play his position can’t do. But that’s not anything against the running backs that have gone through training camp with us because they’ve done a heck of a job, includingJames.”
Although Fichtner and Tomlin are confident Bell will be in good shape, they have contingency plans should Bell be unable to play in the first game. Those plans would include a heavy workload for Conner, who played most of the first half with the starters in the third preseason game against the Titans lastweek.
“That’s why we’ve given all the [starter’s] reps to James,” Fichtner said. “We’ve given reps to other guys. That’s all part of it. We’ll be hopeful when he gets here. I’ll be excited to see him.”