Le'Veon Bell Defends Steelers Contract Holdout: 'I'm Going to Show Everybody'

New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell wants to send a message in 2019.

"I'm thinking I'm going to show everybody," Bell told USA Today's Lorenzo Reyes. "I'm going to show people that, look, Pittsburgh had something special and they let it go. That's what I'm going to go out there and do."

The former Pittsburgh Steelers star knows there are some who questioned him for sitting out all of last season rather than playing under the franchise tag for the second consecutive season. Even though he had to pass up on $14.45 million, he has no regrets about his decision.

"I would do everything the same," Bell told Reyes of sitting out the 2018 season. "I wouldn't change a thing."

Bell had made it known early in the process that he had no intention of playing under the franchise tag two years in a row, telling ESPN's Jeremy Fowler in January 2018 that he was willing to sit out the 2018 season and/or retire if Pittsburgh did not give him a long-term deal:

"I've made a lot of money, I'm happy where I'm at, I've got a good family—I don't really need to play football. Right now, I'm just kind of doing it because I love it. Now, I've done everything but own a Super Bowl. ...

"I don't necessarily care about the money aspect of it. I just want to be valued where I'm at. If I am playing this game, I want to set standards for all the other running backs behind me, like Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon, guys like that. I'm a guy they can kind of look at. I feel I can do that. I'm in a position where I can do that, and I'm going to do it." 

He missed out on $14 million last year, but he made a business decision to not jeopardize his health as he sought a lucrative multiyear deal. Of note, he had suffered a mid-foot sprain, a torn MCL and a groin injury during his Steelers career.

In the end, he wound up landing a four-year, $52.5 million deal in New York.

Missing the 2018 season could result in Bell being rusty to start the upcoming season. On the other hand, it could also help his body make it through all 16 regular-season games, a feat he accomplished just once in his five years on the field in Pittsburgh.