Steelers Want To Keep Le’Veon Bell Long-Term, Undecided About When They’ll Try To Get Extension Done

Steelers president Art Rooney II told reporters on Thursday that he hopes RB Le’Veon Bell‘s future “is here” in Pittsburgh, per Ed Bouchette.

Rooney added that Bell is someone they would like to have around long-term, even after he sustained a serious knee injury this past season.

“We feel like Le’Veon will still be a great player and hopefully the injury will be something he recovers from completely,” Rooney said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We hope [Bell’s] future is here. Whether we address the contract situation now or later is something we still have to evaluate.”

Rooney made it clear that they’ve seen enough from Bell to know what they have him long-term.

“I dont think we are sitting here waiting to see something from LeVeon. I think we’ve seen enough,” Rooney said, per Kaboly. “It is going to come down to how his contract fits in with others. It is kind of a jigsaw puzzle.”

Rooney said that their cap situation should be better moving forward, but it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out and how they ultimately value Bell, who has looked like the best running back in the game at times.

Bell, 23, will be entering the final year of his four-year, $4,120,600 rookie contract that included a $1,376,800 signing bonus. He’ll make a base salary of $966,900 in 2016.

Bell wound up missing the first two games of the season due to a suspension before later sustained a season-ending injury.

His 2015 season ended with him appearing in six games and running for 556 yards on 113 carries (4.9 YPC) to go along with 24 receptions for 136 yards receiving and three total touchdowns.