The Pittsburgh Steelers rushing game produced just fine without Le'Veon Bell for the season, but perhaps the locker room distraction he created was a reason why they wound up missing the playoffs in 2018.

Bell promised on numerous occasions that he would rejoin the Steelers during the 2018 campaign despite failing to agree on a contract extension in the offseason. Bell never returned to Pittsburgh, and he opted to sit out the entire season.

Though second-year running back James Conner filled in nicely for Bell, the absence of a Pro Bowl quarterback still hurt the Steelers on and off the field. It caused a lot of drama in the Pittsburgh locker room, and the team simply couldn't recover.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger explained on KDKA-FM (via Chris Adamski of TribLive.com), that Bell's loss was a distraction that hurt the Steelers throughout the season.

"It hurts you when you don't have one of the better players in the game, but I think the biggest thing that hurts us was that it was a distraction,"Roethlisberger said. "At his position, we got to see James Conner and Jaylen Samuels...I was really encouraged about life without Le'Veon."

Despite missing three games, Conner finished with an impressive 973 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the season - averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Samuels also played well in Conner's brief absence, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and finishing with 256 total rushing yards.

RELATED: LE'VEON BELL RUMORED TO SIGN WITH COLTS AS FREE AGENT IN 2019

But multiple Steelers players had voiced their displeasure with Bell earlier in the season, and his refusal to suit up seemed to be a problem inside the locker room. Wide receiver Antonio Brown also caused a stir when he missed the Week 17 contest, opting to sit out after a disagreement with Roethlisberger in practice.

Bell certainly won't return to the Steelers as he prepares for a massive payday in free agency, but the team will have to make a decision about Brown - who has gotten in trouble with the team numerous times.

What This Means

The Steelers started out 7-2-1 but lost four of their final six games to miss out on the postseason altogether. A few bounces here and there, and they would be a playoff team. The front office and coaching staff has to sit down and figure out which players want to be here, and simply move on from anybody who doesn't want to be part of the team.

NEXT: LE'VEON BELL UPDATE: JETS BECOME FRONTRUNNER FOR STEELERS STAR