The Steelers aren’t certain when they’ll have running back Le’Veon Bell on the field in the regular season yet, but he says they’ll be getting a player at full strength when they do.
Bell is now nine months removed from the right knee injury that ended his 2015 season and says that his leg feels “crazy strong” when he’s on the field. Friday’s practice, in particular, left him feeling like he’s ready to resume his role as the lead back in Pittsburgh.
“I feel that I got all my speed back, and I am confident cutting,” Bell said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "[Friday] was crazy because it was really the first day I wasn’t even thinking about running. When I was running the football, I wasn’t thinking anything about my knee. That’s the point I want to get to. My jump-cutting and jumping, if I decide that I want to jump over somebody or dive into the end zone, I feel I would be able to do that because my leg feels great.”
Bell is appealing a four-game suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy and is expected to know his fate in a couple of weeks. He doesn’t know how that uncertainty or the team’s desire to limit stress on the knee will affect his preseason work, but that isn’t dimming his confidence about regaining his form.
