When the Pittsburgh Steelers announced earlier this afternoon that LeGarrette Blount had been released, I was busy furiously penning my own case as to why there was no other choice but to cut ties after only 11 games.
You see, for all of the transgressions over Blount’s career, both in college and in the pros, the last of those poor decisions was his worst. In this case, there were no punches thrown at an opponent, no police involved, no nearly coming to blows with one of your teammates or coaches.
Again, this was worse; Blount broke the cardinal rule of any team or locker room: He selfishly abandoned his team for no other reason than not being happy with how the game was playing out for him.
That is something that simply can’t be tolerated.
There was just no way Blount was going to survive this. He could survive getting in Joey Porter’s face in training camp. Heck, he could even get away with being charged with marijuana possession in a traffic stop with teammate Bell back in August.
Again, when you lose the trust and belief of the men who take the field, make incredible physical and mental sacrifices, all bets are off. You are indeed on your own, and there was no way he could get away with turning his back on his team.
When Blount walked off the field with the game in progress, and far from decided, he sent a message to every one of his teammates. That message was my personal gain is more important than what’s best for the team. Keep in mind, his anger over his lack of carries last night was exposed publicly all while his closest friend on the team, Le’Veon Bell, was having the game of his life.
Not the sign of a good teammate, not the sign of a true friend.
Blount’s selfish lack of regard for his teammate’s success is one thing, but to turn your back on your team when it is fighting to win a division and earn a playoff birth in the hotly contested AFC is simply inexcusable.
If you need any additional evidence of how important the trust and reliance and one another as teammates is, look no further than the comments made by Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo shortly after Blount’s release.
“We’re fine,” Pouncey said. “We have our starting running back. It’s probably a good thing that it happened. At the end of the day, if it was a cancer, he ended up leaving on his own. That’s a blessing for us. At the end of the day, we’re good. We don’t need him.”
The vibe was similar among other Steeler teammates, as others spoke of the importance of team goals, and playing with the bigger picture in mind. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drove the point home speaking with Fittipaldo of the need for players to support one another, and that head coach Mike Tomlin would not tolerate such selfish behavior.
“I don’t think it’s something coach will take lightly. He knows how important team is and camaraderie. … It’s a tough situation he’s going to be in, but that’s why he’s our head coach,” Roethlisberger said. “He’ll make the decision that’s best for the team. As players we’ll live with it and make it work whatever it is.”
Indeed Tomlin had a tough decision. On one hand, Blount is a talented running back who is capable of making an impact for the Steelers. We got a glimpse of that during his week three performance in a win against the Carolina Panthers, where Blount rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Add to the fact that the Steelers have no running back depth beyond rookie Dri Archer and Josh Harris, who was activated from the practice squad today, and you could make the case that the Steelers took a huge gamble letting go of a talent like Blount.
Though the Steelers now are perilously thin in terms of running back depth, Tomlin and the Steelers should be praised for making it clear that team has to come before the individual every time.
If Blount had a better understanding of that, he’d still be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
