The Pittsburgh Steelers may start the season with Le'Veon Bell suspended for a couple games for his DUI from last year and that could lead the team to sign a free agent like DeAngelo Williams, Darren McFadden or Mark Ingram for depth and this comes as the Steelers are also working on a new contract extension for Ben Roethlisberger, as he is coming into the final year of his deal.
According to ESPN.com, John Clayton reports that Bell is likely going to get suspended for two games to start the season, stemming from his arrest on DUI charges last summer. That incident took place with LeGarrette Blount and that was one of the reasons why the Steelers ditched Blount later in the season, as he was a bad influence on Bell. Either way, Bell should be on the sidelines to start the season and that could get the Steelers to make some moves.
The team won't go big on an RB since they have Bell as their workhorse, but a veteran like Williams, Mark Ingram or Darren McFadden could be cheap options. Bell will be out and that leave just Dri Archer and Josh Harris and that means the Steelers have a move or two they can make. According to ESPN.com, the Steelers and Big Ben have already started talking about a new deal and GM Kevin Colbert said that he was :confident" the sides will agree.
Roethlisberger is coming off of one of his best seasons in the league and at 32 he has plenty of years left in him. Roethlisberger is coming into the final year of an eight year deal worth $102 million that he signed years ago and now he could be in for a pay raise. Roethlisberger is one of the best QBs in the league and he is slated to be paid just $11 million right now in 2015, meaning a new deal is coming. Roethlisberger passed for 32 touchdowns last season and had set career highs with 4952 yards, 408 completions and a 67 percent completion percentage. Roethlisberger has been steady for the Steelers since taking over and he hasn't missed a game in two years.
The Steelers could look at Williams despite his injuries from last season, as he could have time to recover and due to that, likely will not be expensive. Williams rushed for just 219 yards last season did not score a touchdown while missing 10 games and that was his lowest output since he played in six games in 2010. Williams missed just one game between 2011-13, but he has not rushed for over 1000 yards since 2009. Williams's best season was back in 2008 when he had 1518 yards and 18 touchdowns while also playing in all 16 games.
Williams rushed for at least 1100 yards in back to back seasons and in that span he had 25 touchdowns for Carolina. Last year Williams played in just six games and Jonathan Stewart was forced to step up and handle the main load along with Mike Tolbert. Williams will be 32 when the 2015 season starts and while that is when most backs start to decline, he could be a solid complementary option for teams.
