Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has had his suspension reduced to three games, per ESPN reporter Adam Schefter. Bell had originally been suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season because of at least one missed drug test.
The first-team All-Pro in 2014 had been confident he was going to win his appeal and have his suspension negated, writing on his private Instagram page:
“I am not going to miss games, trust me. I’m gonna win the appeal…ppl have no idea what happened but don’t worry…let em hate. When I end up missin no games at all, ppl for sure gonna try to love me again and I’m only ridin with my LOYAL fans!!”
The reduced suspension means Bell will sit out week one at Washington, week two against the Cincinnati Bengals and week three at the Philadelphia Eagles. He’ll now return for week four against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Coming off a reconstructive knee surgery after an injury suffered in the postseason, Bell has been practicing with the Steelers at training camp.
This isn’t the first drug-related suspension for Bell, who missed the first two games of the 2015 season because of a marijuana-related arrest (possession of marijuana and a DUI). The suspension was originally for three games, but Bell appealed that down to two.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, the settlement mandates that Bell remain in his current stage of a substance abuse program.
This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
