James Conner to the Steelers’ rescue

Arthur J. Rooney founded the Steelers in 1933, and they are currently the 7th oldest NFL team in the league. The Pittsburgh Steelers have 8 Super Bowl appearances and 6 championships. They have housed some of the greatest and most influential players in the history of football, such as Troy Polamalu, Mean Joe Greene, Big Ben Roethlisberger, and many more. However, a player who may have recently lost his position as a future Steelers legend is Le’veon Bell.

On Tuesday, November 13th, Bell refused to sign the team’s franchise tag and appear in the 2018/19 season lineup.

Bell racked up 1,291 rushing yards, finding the end zone 9 times on the ground with only 2 fumbles in the 2016/17 season. His 655 yards in the air with 2 touchdowns and 1 fumble solidified him as one of the best dual threat running backs in the NFL.

In addition to this, from 2013 to 2017 Bell averaged 128.9 total yards per game which is the highest average for an NFL running back over the first five seasons of one’s  career since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

His stats prove that he is an elite running back in the NFL. Even so, him turning down a $14.5 million paycheck because he

wasn’t receiving “quarterback money” astonished the football world.

After the offer of $14.5 million for one year, he missed a few weeks after turning down a five year $70 million offer from the Steelers because of the slim possibility of a 17 million dollar offer that seems feasible in his eyes.  

When coach Mike Tomlin was asked what happens if he doesn’t return for the season this Tuesday Tomlin said, “So be it.”

However, this isn’t all bad news because the Steelers have found a sleeping giant, James Connor. The replacement running back who has joined the first squad has been tearing up the league so far. Connor has racked up 10 rushing touchdowns with 849 rushing yards to his name, which is third most in the NFL. He also has eight rushes for 20 or more yards, which ranks fourth in the NFL.

After five consecutive wins the Steelers are rolling, and they plan on continuing without Le’veon Bell as long as James Connor keeps up his spectacular performances.