Odds Favor Le’Veon Bell Staying with Steelers for 2019 NFL Season

• Where will Le’Veon Bell play in the 2019 NFL season?
• Vegas thinks the Bell-Steelers marriage can be salvaged
• James Conner gives a glimpse of potential post-Bell life

Man, the Steelers-Browns Week 1 tilt had just about everything you could imagine.

Except Le’Veon Bell.

While the game featured a myriad of both beautiful and discombobulated action in an eventual tie,  it was impossible to shake the thought that one of the ten best players in football wasn’t there to sprinkle in his own magic.

It’s a standoff over money and respect, which has turned into games missed and a weekly fine any mortal folk would dream for in a pay cheque.

The Steelers offensive linemen put their feelings about Bell on display in a subtle-not-so-subtle college-style overhyped reaction when backup replacement James Conner ran for a touchdown.

Not even Saquon Barkley’s O-line went that bonkers, and he electrified an otherwise dull MetLife crowd with a 68-yard masterpiece to the house (perhaps the distance was an issue).

Conner was a workhorse, with 36 touches for 192 scrimmage yards and two TDs. It’s just one game, but at least Steelers fans know the cupboard won’t be barren if/when Bell signs elsewhere.

But that’s why it was odd when sportsbooks released fresh odds on Bell’s landing spot in 2019.

Odds Where Le’Veon Bell Will Play in 2019?

Staying a Steeler?

This story has changed its tune a couple of times this summer. At first, it appeared Bell would do the usual camp AWOL act, and then things took a turn when the two sides couldn’t lock it down long term.

One veteran Steeler told me players waited a day to criticize Bell to give him a chance to come in Wednesday but "he f—ed us."

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 5, 2018

A reunion doesn’t make sense. It’s already going to be awkward as hell when Bell rejoins the Steelers – remember, he needs six games this year to become a free agent next year.

His offensive linemen shredded him, and one of them is the union rep for the Steelers!

More Ramon Foster on Bell: “He’s making 7 times what I make twice as much as Al (Villanueva) is making and we’re the guys who do it for him.”

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) September 5, 2018

Bell’s likely landing spots

Alas, the whole point of this is to get you paid, so let’s find some value in these odds.

The emergence of the 49ers at +400 looks to be as good a bet as you will find, especially after Week 1. Down Jerrick McKinnon for the year, retread Alfred Morris did not turn back the clock – rather, he turned it over, to the opposition. At the goal line.

Offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan would love to scheme with a weapon like Bell.

The Jets’ odds have gotten longer, but not a bad play at +900. They have the deepest pockets of all this coming offseason, and if Sam Darnold turns into the darling New Yorkers crave, perhaps the rebuild accelerates rapidly. So far, so good.

And the Seahawks at +1000 are desperate to fill the crater that Marshawn Lynch left years ago. Bell alone could fix the mess that is Seattle’s horrible line play. They can’t create space, so why not bring in a guy that doesn’t need an open highway? Bell is the dude in rush hour that is able to scan all the lanes and move quickly to the open spaces to keep moving, while everyone else is stuck bumper-to-bumper.

Bell is the dude in rush hour that is able to scan all the lanes and move quickly to the open spaces to keep moving, while everyone else is stuck bumper-to-bumper.

Where Will Le’Veon Bell Play in 2019?

I would first find the book that allowed me to bet that Le’Veon Bell wouldn’t be coming back to the Steelers, because that’s a lock. After that, the Niners are the pick for me.