Steelers players are raiding Le'Veon Bell's locker for shoes and suits after the running back failed to report to the team
- Le'Veon Bell will not play this season after failing to report to the Steelers by the Week 11 deadline.
- With Bell likely done with the Steelers for good, his teammates took to raiding his locker for cleats and other goods in his absence.
- It's just the latest turn in what has been a long and wild goodbye between Bell and the Steelers.
The Le'Veon Bell era in Pittsburgh is likely over.
After Bell failed to report to the team on Tuesday, it became official that Bell would not be playing in the NFL in 2018, his holdout for a new contract ending not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Next year, the Steelers will likely move on from Bell, as the two sides failed to reach a compromise during his holdout and Pittsburgh has found rushing success with James Conner.
Bell played five years with the Steelers after being drafted by the team in 2013 and quickly became one of the most feared offensive weapons in the league. Now that his time with Pittsburgh is almost certainly done, on Wednesday there was only one thing left for his teammates to do - raid his locker for shoes.
At first, the news read like a joke - was this a bit that the Steelers were doing to have a bit of fun with Bell's departure? Was it happening in jest or in protest?
But soon after, the video came out, featuring Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree delightedly thanking Bell for his new cleats.
It's just the latest in a series of odd goodbyes between Bell and his former team.
Earlier in the week Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin replied simply, "So be it," when asked how he would feel if Bell failed to report.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he had attempted to reach out to Bell before his deadline to report. "I texted him yesterday before the deadline asking him - texted - saying I was hoping he was going to show up, and if he decided not to I wish him nothing but the best," Roethlisberger said.
Bell never replied.
The Steelers may be without Bell moving forward, but as things stand they're still one of the hottest teams in the NFL without him, having won five straight games including a 52-21 trouncing of the Panthers on Sunday night.
Bell may have laced up his cleats for the Steelers for the last time, but it looks as though his teammates are happy enough to lace up for him.