Why Pittsburgh Steelers should leave Le'Veon Bell on bench if he reports

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers are cooking. So why potentially mess with a recipe that's working by introducing an ingredient that could ruin the whole meal?

Though the AFC North leaders just stormed to a fifth consecutive victory Thursday night by throttling the Panthers 52-21 at Heinz Field, they'll almost certainly face a pivotal dilemma in the coming days: What to do with Le'Veon Bell, who's back in Pittsburgh, assuming he reports to his team by Tuesday — the deadline that will determine whether he plays during the 2018 season?

The possibilities may seem tantalizing.

Imagine an offense that appears to already be operating near maximum capacity bolstered by a dual-threat all-pro. Might Bell and James Conner be an even more imposing tailback tandem than what the Saints enjoy with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram? Could a team averaging 35.4 points during its win streak boost that figure significantly? Would Bell's presence complete a formula that could end this franchise's decade-long quest for its "Stairway to Seven," the next Lombardi Trophy — and one that would give the Steelers two more Super Bowl wins than the Patriots, Cowboys or 49ers.

Answer: I doubt it and think it might be more likely he upsets the whole ingot cart. In fact, if Bell returns, the Steelers might be better off leaving him where he's been all season — in mothballs.

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Here's why ...

Chemistry

In a league where players almost never rip peers who are handling their business — contract negotiations — Pittsburgh's locker room was shockingly critical of Bell when he diverted from last year's post-franchise tag plan by opting not to report prior to Week 1. That anger eventually morphed into staunch support and respect for Conner as he helped drive the team up the standings following a 1-2-1 start.

The latest emotion has been frustration over constant questions about the "will he, won't he" scenarios as they pertain to Bell's opaque plans. All-pro guard David DeCastro pretty well summed up it after Sunday's win at Baltimore: "Honestly, no one cares anymore," he said of the Bell dilemma. "Why would I? I don't want to waste the energy."

I asked Ben Roethlisberger directly Thursday night if it would be easier or harder to try and reintegrate a star player into an attack already firing on all cylinders (457 yards against Carolina).

“You know what," Big Ben tersely replied, "I’m not gonna comment on someone that’s not in this locker room right now.”

NFL players are a forgiving lot, and the public message if Bell comes back might be brothers embracing one of their own. But it also seems like it might not be nearly that simple behind closed doors.

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Bell-Conner committee? Really?

It's easy to assume Bell could just plug in alongside Conner, the NFL's second-leading rusher behind Todd Gurley entering Week 10 and a versatile weapon who has produced at a level wholly comparable with his predecessor's historic levels.

The Steelers have hit high gear with Conner as their workhorse. Yet Bell is also accustomed to being the man, getting a minimum of 336 touches in three of the past four seasons, including an NFL-high 406 in 2017. And there was no sharing last year when Conner was a rookie (he didn't catch one pass and averaged slightly more than two touches per game).

Bell also hasn't played in this offense under new coordinator Randy Fichtner. Asking Fichtner to incorporate an incoming player geared for a high volume of work at this stage of the season seems unusually disruptive. 

"We have stuff rolling as a unit right now," said Steelers tight end Jesse James on Thursday. "But Le'Veon is such a great player. We've all seen what he's done in his previous years.

"But you got to play one day at a time."

In sum, this isn't a situation like New Orleans, where Kamara and Ingram are used to splitting the load and even being on the field simultaneously — and a spot where Ingram was able to parachute right into Sean Payton's familiar scheme coming off his four-game suspension.

The whole prospect of a timeshare simply looms as problematic for a duo that's never had to do it in the NFL. Conner is young, hungry and hardly needs to be coddled (though he did go into concussion protocol Thursday). Conversely, Bell's camp has been hyperfocused on how much he's used heading into free agency. Yet how would a volatile veteran react if he's getting, say, 35 yards on seven touches while also trying to cement the case someone should pay him at least $15 million annually (Gurley money), and maybe closer to $17 million (Antonio Brown money) given his hybrid skills, next year?

Game ready?

Bell essentially needed the month of September in 2017 to work his way into football shape after missing the entire offseason program, training camp and preseason. He averaged 78.7 yards from scrimmage in those first three games before settling into a groove over his last dozen when he churned out 142.5. 

Yet how long would it take him to harden his armor and find his rhythm in a platoon role — especially since he last played competitive football Jan. 14, Pittsburgh's divisional playoff loss to Jacksonville? Certainly, given Conner's presence and output, Bell couldn't reasonably expect the 25-30 touches he's historically gotten while trying to reach his peak level.

Running backs also have an alarming track record of breaking down after holdouts. Just ask Larry Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steven Jackson or Jamal Anderson.

The Steelers might just have to put Bell through a de facto November training camp during midweek practices to get him sufficiently calloused and — potentially — ready for action. Which brings me to a final point.

The Steelers still control Bell's future

Bell can issue all the cryptic tweets and social media rationales he wants. But at the end of the day, he's completely mismanaged this situation. By finally showing up, he'll take home nearly $6 million the rest of the year ... and that means he will have left about $8.5 million on the table.

As for the opportunity he so desperately covets to test the open market and has tried to orchestrate? It still may not be up to him.

The Steelers could choose to franchise Bell a third time in 2019, as financially prohibitive as that might be. They could also try to slap the less pricey transition tag on him — that would theoretically invite several suitors since they wouldn't risk losing first-round draft picks to pry Bell loose — but would also allow Pittsburgh the opportunity to match any offer.

And that could mean the Steelers might ultimately let one of those tags dictate Bell's salary (again), then find a way to fit him into next year's salary structure — Pittsburgh currently has roughly $20 million in cap space for 2019 — before finding the best deal they can while shipping him to the location of their choosing ... unless, of course, Bell wants to waste another year of his prime by sitting out.

But if the Rooney family, general manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin are mulling such deep state options, how much incentive would they have to expose such an asset to injury — one who's been largely motivated by self-interest in recent years — who could drastically change the organization's long-term planning calculus if he's only going to be little more than a rotational back in 2018? Seems preferable to just let Bell take some licks on the practice field — get him ready to go in case Conner suffers a significant injury — but otherwise keep the 26-year-old encased behind emergency glass.

It could be the approach that's ultimately best for all parties.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis