Steelers prefer Juice or hogs?

By TYRIQ MCCORD

With the NFL season starting Thursday, teams are ready to lace up the cleats and win some games. Well at least majority of them.

Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell, the self-proclaimed Juice, has been holding out with the team organization all off season and the pre-season just to renew his contract to get what he believes he deserves. Bell, who ended top three in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2017, signed a $12.12 million one-year deal in 2017 and expects to be paid more. The Steelers put a $14.54 million franchise tag on Bell but has yet to agree to the deal and some teammates are getting bothered by it.

Offensive linemen Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster were very out spoken about Bell’s situation and they were not happy.

“Honestly it’s a little selfish, I’m kinda pissed right now. It sucks that he’s not here. we’ll move on as a team. It doesn’t look like he’ll be in the game plan at this point,” Pouncey said through Tim Benz of the Tribune-Review.

“Nobody is taking this well at all,” Foster explained per Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. “That guy comes in half the season, and he still will make more than me so f–k it, right?”

Bleacher Report posted quotes from both of Le’Veon’s teammates on their Instagram page and Le’Veon left a simple comment under the picture saying “whoa.” The hogs, offensive linemen, are pretty upset simply because they feel “we’re the guys who do it for him,” Foster would say.

Second year running back, James Conner, played a limited role for the Pittsburgh last year as a back up to Le’Veon. He ended the season with only 144 rushing yards on 32 attempts with no touchdowns.

Conner looks great. We’ll worry about him [Le’Veon] in Week 2,” Pouncey said.

Steelers kickoff against a new and improved Cleveland Browns team at 1 p.m. this Sunday. Though they will be juiceless in their first game, the hogs are looking forward to leading Conner to a great game in his first-ever career start.