As the Pittsburgh Steelers begin minicamp, many headlines surround the team’s conquest for another Lombardi trophy.
Around the league, minicamps have begun to open for teams as they take another step closer to the 2017 season. Among those who opened on Tuesday include the Pittsburgh Steelers as they look to defend the AFC North division crown.
After an eventful offseason that saw Big Ben nearly hang his cleats up, Martavis Bryant reinstated and a whole lot of drug tests for James Harrison, the Steelers are more than ready to shift gears and hit the field.
Here are the early headlines of Steelers minicamp:
Le’Veon Bell won’t partake in minicamp…at all
The situation involving Le’Veon Bell and his contract continues to build up as we move to training camp. Bell is currently still recovering from a sports hernia surgery performed in March, and looks to be back at full health soon. Taking his injury and his desire for a contract into consideration, it would be reasonable to not see Le’Veon anytime soon.
However, Bell couldn’t attend this week even if he wanted to. As a player who has yet to sign his franchise tender, Le’Veon is not allowed to participate in the Steelers mini-camp this week. (Via Adam Schefter’s tweet)
Pittsburgh has until July 15th to reach a deal with its top back, and a failure to complete one will result in Bell seeing a $12 million salary for 2017. It’s in both player and team interest that a new deal is reached before the deadline, and hopefully Bell will be ready when training camp arrives.