Lost in the shuffle of preseason football were the odds that dropped in regards to Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell. Bovada posted the odds for which team Bell will be on for Week 1 of the 2019 regular season, and as you can see, the favorite is a surprise.
The Indianapolis Colts are now the leaders (+375) to land Bell this offseason, followed by the New York Jets, who are tied with the Steelers at +400. This type of speculation is nothing new to when it comes to Bell and the Steelers, as it feels like his contract issues with them having been going on forever. But, this year just feels different.
So the Colts? From not really being mentioned, to leading the pack at +375 definitely smells “fishy”.
Football wise, the move makes complete sense. Bell would be the perfect complement to pair with Colts golden boy Andrew Luck. And, after everything the Colts and Luck have been through with his injury, and the doubt surrounding his return, they know the time to equip him with weapons is now.
While Marlon Mack showed some flashes of being the man last year, Bell is one of the most, if not the most, dynamic weapons in the game. Bell not only ran for 1,291 yards and 9 touchdowns last year, he also caught 85 balls for 655 yards and 2 touchdown receptions. While Bell does have a lot of tread on his tires (most in usage among RBs last year), he just turned 26, so he has plenty of dominant years left.
The one other interesting thing to point out is Bell’s social media activity. He recently was showing love to Luck online:
Eerily similar to the DeMar DeRozen IG activity just before he got traded, right? Just saying…
Anyways, we’ve seen similar scenarios play out this summer with LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard with the gambling favorite (Lakers and Raptors, respectively) becoming the team to snag the superstar. With that in mind, the relationship between Bell and the Steelers is something to keep an eye on.
