Le’Veon Bell Out for Saturday’s Game With Foot Injury, Steelers Will Seek Second Opinion, Diagnosis Soon
Le’Veon Bell carries the ball against the Redskins. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Pepperidge Farm remembers, and so do I.
Although they soured on the former Alabama star, Pittsburgh’s brass still selected a running back with the 48th overall pick in the form of Le’Veon Bell.
While I was not upset that the Steelers passed on Lacy for medical reasons, I still had numerous doubts regarding how well that Bell would transition to the professional level. In fact, I even mentioned that the running back could also be a potential “injury risk” due to his height (6’1″) and upright running style.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, it has been Bell, not Lacy, who has struggled to stay healthy since the preseason began.
The “injury train” first left the station when Bell was held out of Pittsburgh’s first preseason contest with “knee stiffness.” Thankfully, all appeared to be well until the running back left practice last Thursday after he aggravated his injured knee. Despite his knee issues, Bell suited up for his preseason debut on Monday Night against the Redskins. Sadly for him, he sustained a “mid-foot sprain” during the Steelers’ first series and did not return.
Although the knee issues appeared to be minor, Bell’s injured foot has left many concerned about his status for the 2013 regular season.
Yesterday, Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted that the foot injury could cause Bell to be “out a while.” Scott Brown of ESPN.com then added to the bad news when he reported that Bell would indeed miss Pittsburgh’s next preseason game this Saturday against Kansas City. While the franchise will not have a “final diagnosis” on the extent of Bell’s injury for “a couple of days,” the rookie’s absence will be a huge blow to Pittsburgh’s already anemic ground attack.
Although the “final diagnosis” has yet to be determined, it is still never a good sign to see a rookie saddled with this early in their career injury problems. For now though, all we can do is wait and see how much time that Bell will inevitably miss this fall.
Most of all though, I just hope that the Steelers did not burn another high draft choice on a fragile “Big 10/12 lemon” at the running back position.
Players Stats & Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com, and Pro Football Reference
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