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  • FA Running Back #6
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    Free agent RB Le’Veon Bell said in a series of Snapchat videos that he’s considering a return to the NFL in 2024.
    According to Bell, who will turn 32 in two weeks, he “will only come back for that one team.” We can safely assume the Steelers are “that one team,” as they are the team that drafted him in 2013 and the team he spent the first six years of his career with. Bell also said, “I will be better than I ever was,” which is a bold statement for a player who was twice named a Second-team All-Pro (2016 and 2017), and was a First-team All-Pro in 2014. In his prime, Bell was one of the best running backs in the league totaling 1800-plus yards from scrimmage in three of his first five seasons in the league. His 2018 holdout amidst a contract dispute with the Steelers resulted in him missing a year, only for him to return in 2019 to sign a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets that lasted little more than a year. Bell clearly lost a step in his return to action and played only two more seasons before going unsigned in 2022. It’s genuinely hard to imagine Bell signing with a team, even if he does decide to return. At best, he’d be the RB3 on a Steelers roster that has a first-rounder in Najee Harris and an emerging dual-threat back in Jaylen Warren. Over the last 10 years, there have been 24 backs to handle a rush attempt in their age-32 season or later. Bell joining those ranks would be surprising.
  • FA Running Back #6
    Bucs waived RB Le’Veon Bell.
    Bell’s spot was needed with Leonard Fournette returning from IR. In eight regular-season games between the Bucs and Ravens, Bell ran for just 101 yards while averaging 2.8 YPC. Turning 30 in February, it won’t be surprising if Bell retires this offseason.

  • FA Running Back #6
    Le’Veon Bell rushed three times for 14 yards in the Bucs’ Week 18 win over the Panthers, adding a one-yard touchdown catch on one target.
    With Leonard Fournette, Giovani Bernard, and Ronald Jones all hurt, Ke’Shawn Vaughn paced the backfield with 10 carries for 29 yards and a two-yard touchdown. Bell was next in line for touches, securing a goal-line touchdown catch. The Bucs hope to have Fournette back for the start of the playoffs next week against the 49ers.

  • FA Running Back #32
    Ronald Jones (ankle) is out for Week 18.
    Jones can’t cut on his injured ankle, according to head coach Bruce Arians. He -- along with Leonard Fournette (hamstring) -- have a chance to return for the Bucs’ postseason run. In Week 18, look for Le’Veon Bell and Ke’Shawn Vaughn to head up the Tampa backfield. The Athletic’s Greg Auman believes Bell will take on pass-catching duties in the Bucs’ pass-heavy offense. He caught three of three targets for 30 yards last week against the Jets.

  • FA Running Back #6
    The Athletic’s Greg Auman said Le’Veon Bell and Ke’Shawn Vaughn could split the team’s backfield workload in Week 18 against the Panthers.
    Bell, per Auman, profiles as the team’s best pass-catching back for Week 18. That could mean Vaughn and Bell will split early-down duties and Bell will take on the third-down role against Carolina. Bell would be the superior PPR option in such a scenario. Neither Tampa back would have much upside if they share backfield responsibilities against the Panthers’ exploitable rush defense. Ronald Jones (ankle) likely won’t play in Week 18.

  • SF Running Back #40
    Ke’Shawn Vaughn suffered a rib injury in Week 17 against the Jets.
    Vaughn left the Bucs’ win over the Jets in the fourth quarter, ceding lead back duties to Le’Veon Bell, the team’s only healthy running back headed into Week 18 against Carolina. Ronald Jones, undergoing an MRI Monday on his injured ankle, seems iffy -- at best -- to suit up for Week 18. Bell could get something close to a full workload against a beatable Carolina rush defense.

  • FA Running Back #32
    Ronald Jones is undergoing an MRI on his injured ankle.
    Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said the team would know the extent of RoJo’s injury early this week. Jones left the team’s Week 17 win against the Jets before Ke’Shawn Vaughn exited with a rib injury. Arians said he’s hopeful Vaughn will be able to play in Week 18 against Carolina. Le’Veon Bell is the lone healthy Tampa running back and could be the team’s primary runner against the Panthers’ marshmallow soft front seven.

  • FA Running Back #6
    The Athletic’s Greg Auman reports Le’Veon Bell is the “only healthy” Bucs running back headed into Week 18.
    Leonard Fournette (hamstring) remains on injured reserve, Ronald Jones picked up an ankle injury in Week 17 against the Jets, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn hurt his ribs late in the game against New York. That left Bell -- signed two weeks ago -- as the Bucs’ primary (only) back in the final couple fourth quarter drives. He had three rushes for five yards and caught three balls for 30 yards while running a route on 39.3 percent of Tom Brady’s drop backs. Gio Bernard, who was placed on IR a few weeks ago with knee and hip injuries, could return for Tampa’s Week 18 game against the Panthers, potentially complicating the team’s backfield split. Bell should be rostered in all leagues that play into Week 18.

  • FA Running Back #6
    Le’Veon Bell rushed three times for five yards and a two-point conversion in Tampa’s Week 17 win over New York, adding three catches for 30 yards.
    The Bucs mostly used Bell as a third-down receiving back, and he generated a couple of easy drag completions on linebackers over the middle. He did, notably, lead the team in snaps at running back. Will he be a Week 18 factor? It seems unlikely, but if he splits carries with Ke’Shawn Vaughn, there’s a chance he gets some real workload against the running-out-the-string Panthers.

  • FA Running Back #6
    Buccaneers signed RB Le’Veon Bell.
    With Leonard Fournette out for “a game or two” with a hamstring injury and Giovani Bernard on injured reserve, Tampa Bay was down to only Ronald Jones and Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the running back room. Bell – who averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on 31 attempts earlier this year with the Ravens – figures to slot in as a depth piece with Fournette on the mend. Jones should lead this backfield, but Bucs coach Bruce Arians has been hesitant to use him in the passing game, so Bell could complement Vaughn in that area. Still, the 29-year-old’s best days are behind him, and he’s a longshot to produce fantasy-viable numbers despite his big-name appeal. Jones is the only Buccaneers back worth starting.