VIA Sporting News
Many fantasy owners are wondering if Le’veon Bell will actually play a down of football this season. It’s a fair question considering Bell was supposed to report at the end of training camp. Then Bell was supposed to sit out 3 weeks and report in week 4, and then it became a possible season long holdout. We have finally landed on Bell reporting to the Steelers at the beginning of week 8. While there is still a bit of mystery around his arrival, it seems that Bell will in fact report Monday morning, ending a 7 week long standoff with the Steelers.
With Bell’s assumed arrival, many questions arise surrounding him and the Steelers offense. First off, will he play against the Browns in week 8. In short, yes he will. While Bell won’t see his usual number of touches in his first week back, he most certainly will see the field. A good guess for Bell’s workload would be somewhere between 10-20 touches against the Browns. Bell has a good track record of keeping himself in football shape while holding out so I see no reason to believe he won’t play as soon as he returns. After week 8 his usage by the Steelers will be determined by his conditioning and familiarity with the offense given the Steelers have a new offensive coordinator in Randy Fitchner. By week 10, with 3 weeks to acclimate back to NFL life and the new offense, Bell should return to the full time lead back roll in Pittsburgh.
With Bell back in the mix, there is one last question to answer. What happens to James Conner. Conner has filled in quite well in Bell’s absence. Conner has put up 453 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns, and 257 receiving yards in through the first 6 weeks. These numbers are similar to what Bell put up last season through the first 6 weeks. To say Conner has played well during Bell’s absence would be an understatement. Conner has exceeded all expectations. But, at the end of the day James Conner is not Le’veon Bell. Le’veon Bell is the best running back in the league. He brings something to the Steelers offense that can’t be matched by any other running back in the NFL. While James Conner will not fall completely out of the offense, his work load will decrease significantly. Once Bell has settled back into the Steelers offense, Conner will most likely fall into a roll similar to that of Tevin Coleman. The Falcons use Coleman as a change of pace back, as he is paired with Devonta Freeman. Is see Pittsburgh doing the same with Conner and Bell. Will he will not put up the same numbers as he did in the early part of the season, but James Conner may provided you with a steady Flex position worthy performance every week.
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