The Pittsburgh Steelers are taking another step in making it clear that they're ready to move on from running back Le'Veon Bell, who was a no-show for Week as he continues his holdout.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, the Steelers have removed Bell from their depth chart, leaving James Conner, Stevan Ridley and Jaylen Samuels on the roster.
The Steelers got excellent production from second-year back James Conner in their Week 1 contest vs. the Cleveland Browns. Conner had 31 carries for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and he added five receptions for 57 yards. The game ended in a sloppy 21-21 tie, however.
Bell seemingly threw shade at the Steelers by tweeting on Sunday, sharing this tweet following the tie:
Though the Steelers and Bell weren't able to agree on a long-term extension, the three-time Pro Bowler vowed that he would sign his franchise tender and play out 2018. But Bell has yet to return to the team, and there's no sign that he's ready to end the holdout.
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Multiple Steelers players called out Bell for his selfishness, pointing out that they showed up despite being paid much less than him. Bell is a free agent after the season, and it's safe to believe the holdout will only hurt his value in free agency.
In July, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said the Steelers gave Bell a take-it-or-leave-it five-year offer worth $70 million. That contract is more than generous for a running back in today's NFL, but it still wasn't enough for Bell.
The Steelers own one of the NFL's best offensive lines, and Conner showed that Bell isn't the only running back that can succeed there. With Pittsburgh removing him from the depth chart, it's another sign that the team is ready to keep going without Bell. It's up to him to end the holdout and show up, if he wants to play at all in 2018.