Le’Veon Bell apologizes to Steelers fans: ‘I never should have left’

Le’Veon Bell has finally issued a full mea culpa to Steelers fans.

The former All-Pro running back and Michigan State star has alluded to feeling regret about leaving the team that drafted him amid a contract dispute in 2018, notably earlier this summer when he expressed a desire to retire with the team on a podcast. But he’d yet to fully acknowledge those feelings until this weekend, when he leveled with fans on social media.

“I never apologized to the fans for really sitting out,” Bell said in a video posted to his Snapchat story Saturday night. “Or leaving the Steelers. I never apologized. So I want to say, I apologize for leaving the best damn fans there is in this damn world. I shouldn’t have left. I apologize. I should never have left. I apologize. That’s my fault and that’s on me.”

The “sitting out” part of the apology refers to 2018, when Bell skipped the Steelers’ entire season rather than play under the franchise tag and expose himself to injury before hitting the free agent market.

At the time, he wanted more fully guaranteed money in extension talks. The Steelers instead stopped at offering virtual guarantees that Bell would have lost out on only if the Steelers cut him during the deal.

He signed with the New York Jets the following offseason, and his career was never the same as it was at its peak, when he was putting up massive yards from scrimmage as one of the league’s great runners and receivers out of the backfield.

Now it appears he feels what many Steelers fans have long argued: He could have made more money and produced more in an offense specifically built to highlight him if he’d stayed in Pittsburgh.

So where does that apology leave his relationship with the team now? It will be interesting to watch in the weeks and months ahead.

Bell said on a podcast earlier this summer that he’s in as good a shape as he’s ever been. But at 31, he’s well past the age when most running backs lose a step. And the Steelers have the much younger Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in their backfield already. An on-field reunion seems very unlikely.

Perhaps, though, his contrition could open the door to a ceremonial end to his career, where the team celebrates his career in a retirement news conference and ongoing involvement with the team that could lead to some post-football endorsements.