Le'Veon Bell Hasn't Returned to Steelers Yet Amid Reports of Planned Arrival

Le'Veon Bell is still not back with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The running back did not show up at team facilities for player meetings Monday ahead of the bye week, per Aditi Kinkhabwala‏ of NFL Network. The Steelers held meetings Monday before practicing Tuesday and Wednesday.

Later in the day, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported there is "continued expectation that he will report to Pittsburgh's training facility at some point in the next week."

By rule, the Steelers must have Thursday-Sunday off to satisfy the collective bargaining agreement saying players must get four consecutive days off during a bye week.

Assuming Bell is planning to return during the bye, he probably won't show up until Thursday or Friday. The Steelers would still be required to pay him his Week 7 check if he reports by then, and he would avoid practice by skipping out a couple more days.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Bell has remained non-communicative with Steelers management and teammates about his plans.

"I've got a lot of good relationships with players on the team," Bell told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "They probably think I backdoored them. But I think they understand the decision. At the end of the day, they said what they said in the media. I'm not really too upset about it. It was a little disappointing, but I understand their side. When I talk to them, I hope they get that side of it."

Bell has forfeited more than $5 million in salary by sitting out the Steelers' first six games. James Conner has filled in, playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level. Conner has averaged 118.3 yards from scrimmage during the first six weeks. Bell, by comparison, averaged 129.7 yards in 2017.

Conner has also put himself on pace to score 18 touchdowns, which would eclipse Bell's career high. 

"He was a bowling ball today. He was all over the place. What a great game, but I know it's his last game for us, so, because Le'Veon's coming back. I thought he did well in his last one," Ben Roethlisberger joked with reporters after the game.

It's unclear what the workload split will be like with Bell back, but Conner has earned snaps. It just remains to be seen if he'll get them when and if Bell returns.