When we last saw Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, he was being helped off the field in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night after suffering a concussion while trying to score a touchdown near the end of the fourth quarter.
Bell and Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith had a helmet-to-helmet collision on the goal line that forced Bell’s helmet to come off and his head slammed into the turf as he fell into the end zone. The play was whistled dead when his helmet came off, which means that Bell was concussed without putting points on the board.
Bell, who had perhaps the best day of his rookie season with 136 total yards and a touchdown, before getting hurt, has since watched tape of the play and agrees with everyone else who saw it by calling it an “ugly hit.” He says he’s been feeling “progressively better” and did some running Monday as he waits to take the tests he’ll need to pass to get back on the field.
“I’m going to take it day by day and see where we’re at,” Bell said, via Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “The goal is obviously to play, but if [I’m] not able to, I’m not able to.”
If Bell can’t play, Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones will be the backs for the Steelers as they try to remain alive in the AFC playoff race.