Steelers continue lovefest for Le’Veon Bell, but want to beat him

At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds but with a wide smile and gregarious personality, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward can be difficult to decipher.

When he was asked about a former teammate in running back Le’Veon Bell, who was popular in the locker room but left under questionable circumstances, Heyward chose to deadpan.

“I just want to hit Le’Veon,” Heyward said. “I haven’t hit Le’Veon since he’s been in the league, so…

“No, I’m just kidding.”

Kevin Gorman: Steelers should show love for Le’Veon Bell with group hug | https://t.co/hVDbdnrrke https://t.co/KWDoCkmy24

— Kevin Gorman (@KGorman_Trib) December 19, 2019

Heyward’s comment was in line with teammates as the Steelers prepare to play against Bell for the first time Sunday. Bell left the Steelers after he sat out last season rather than sign a $14.5 million tender and subsequently signed with the Jets.

“I think, honestly, you move on from it,” Heyward said. “You understand that we’ve got bigger fish to fry. It’s the next game in our way. We’ve got to take care of business. If we focus in on one person, the other team will beat you, so we are going up there to beat the New York Jets, not Le’Veon Bell.”

JuJu Smith-Schuster played just one season with Bell in 2017, when Bell waited until the Monday before the regular season began to report to the team.

“It’s going to be fun,” Smith-Schuster said. “I’m going to be rooting for him. He’s a guy who when I was rookie, I got here and he was great mentor for me, a good dude. I’m happy for him, what he’s doing — but at the same time, we’re going to have to put Le’Veon down.”

Smith-Schuster paused, and then looked directly into an ESPN camera.

“Le’Veon, what’s good, boy?!”

Le’Veon Bell says he’s still playing his best football, is ‘over it and past’ Steelers tenurehttps://t.co/ELE58SN215

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 19, 2019

Safety Terrell Edmunds never played a game or shared a locker room with Bell, though they technically were teammates after Edmunds was the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2018.

“It’s just the competitive spirit in us,” Edmunds said, “just to go out there and play hard and knowing a lot of these guys played on the same team as him, just put it out there and talk junk to him a little bit because that was your teammate at one time. You still may be friends with him, but you just want to go out and beat him.”

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