Maurkice Pouncey fed up with Le’Veon Bell, calling holdout “selfish”

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On Monday, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey predicted Le'Veon Bell‘s return Wednesday. When the star running back didn’t show as expected, Pouncey unloaded on Bell.

“Honestly, it’s a little selfish,” Pouncey said after practice Wednesday, via the Tim Benz of triblive.com. “I’m kind of pissed right now. It sucks that he’s not here. We’ll move on as a team. It doesn’t look like he’ll be in the game plan at this point [for Sunday against Cleveland]. [James] Conner looks great. We’ll worry about [Bell] in Week 2.”

Or not.

Bell can stay away through Week 10 and still become a free agent in 2019.

Pouncey suggests Bell should do just that.

“We just finally accept things at some point and you’re like, ‘All right, if you don’t want to be here, it is what it is. Hold out for 10 weeks,” Pouncey said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pouncey was not alone in his thoughts about Bell. Offensive lineman Ramon Foster said, “Here’s a guy who doesn’t give a damn.”

Offensive lineman David DeCastro added, via Bouchette, that Bell’s teammates are “disappointed” in Bell’s absence, “What’s the expression? We’re stuck with our foot in our mouth. We all thought he’d be here.”

Pouncey wonders why Bell is letting his agent, Adisa Bakari, do his talking for him.

“Why play hide and seek? Why let your agent say this? Just man up and tell us what you’re going to do,” Pouncey said, via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Media.

92 responses to “Maurkice Pouncey fed up with Le’Veon Bell, calling holdout “selfish”

  1. Can’t we let this go?

    Aren’t there more important things to talk about other than Le’Veon Bell? Like are there really aliens on Mars?

  2. Seems like the guys blocking for Bell are fed up with him. Not a real good look for the guy. He ranted when the fans of Pittsburgh got fed up with him this past spring/summer. What is he gonna say now that they guys that stood up for him the past couple months are sick of it.
    He’s been suspended, showed up late for a walk through for a playoff game, held out a full off-season 2 years in a row and now is holding out into the season. Players, coaches and importantly front office staff are taking notice Lev. The guys you are listening to are feeding you bad information.

  3. He’s right those OL bust there butts for whomever is running behind them. They take good care of him and hes gonna be able to cash in cuz of it… I hope he buys them all nice Birthday gifts.

  4. This team is a disaster. No Bell, no Todd Haley, no defense, no head coach. Last place in the division.

  5. I think Mr. Bell picked the absolute Wrong team to play chicken with. This will not end well for him , let alone having these antics Cause the Steelers to release him. The Rooney’s are NOT the raiders, or Rams, or Bears. Bad move Lev

  6. This is when the NFL actually needs to collude and not employ people like Bell. If he didnt know that a dozen other teams would stand in line to pay him millions, this crap would stop. I just don’t get the attitude of some of these guys.

  7. The guy signed on the dotted line. Agreed to play football for a designated period of time, for a designated salary. He was happy with that at the time, now he wants to “hold out”. Breach of contract. How many of us get to cherry pick our legal obligations? This “holdout” stuff is getting ridiculous.

  8. While I am not a fan of Pouncey because he and his idiot brother came to the defense of that killer Aaron Hernandez. That said, I agree with him here 100%. LeVeon and every jerk who holds out for more money is as selfish as it gets. This is a team sport and if 14.5 million isn’t enough money to join your teammates then it just shows you who you care about. He’s not on team Pittsburgh. He’s clearly playing for team LeVeon.
    These guys have a legit shot at the superbowl this year and he pulls this crap.
    I hope he signs a contract next year that averages about 6 million. I will be rolling on the ground laughing at this guy.

  9. As a RB in the NFL Bell has one shot to really score a monster contract. And his teammates are throwing him under the bus and talking about his money? If I’m Bell I’m HEATED.

  10. “bullcharger says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:10 pm
    And Antonio Brown is watching this and soaking it all in. A how-to manual in sending your team into chaos if you don’t get what you want.”

    I have no idea what you mean. Brown wanted a new contract early, he talked to his agent, talked to the team and continued working. He showed up for all offseason activity, didn’t say much at all in the media and the team did two things. First they did not negotiate a new deal because he wasn’t a QB and QBs are the only players they will extend with more than a year left on their contract. Secondly they restructured his current contract and convered his future base salaries into signing bonuses for that year. That gave him more money and made no difference to them in the end because they were going to negotiate with him that last year. That’s how you work with a team.

  11. Speaking of Le’Veon Bell, whatever happened to that rigorous NFL investigation on how his groin injury was never reported the week leading up to AFC Championship Game two years ago? He played about 5 snaps in that game and had to sit that one out too. I guess it’s safe to say at this point that this matter has been gracefully swept under the rug… more NFL hypocrisy feeding into the major challenges they self created – i can recall the words of one Roger Rooney, Uh. I mean Mara, uh I mean Goodell during framegate – it’s all about the “integrity of the league” – yeah, okay….

  12. Ive pretty much never heard of a guy getting thrown under the bus by multiple teammates. Bell must not be a good dude for MULTIPLE teammates to call him out like this. And people were worried about Odell a few months ago….lolol.

  13. I’m not a superfan of Bell but he’s obviously frustrated with this franchise tag system. Unfortunately running backs are not being fairly compensated in that teams are abusing the franchise tag and eating up all of the player’s productive years by preventing him from hitting the open market. This violates the spirit of the franchise tag. The NFLPA needs to renegotiate this at the end of this CBA and allow teams to use the franchise tag only once on the same player in consecutive years. The Steelers are employing the same “year-to year” tactic used by the ‘Skins on Cousins. However the shelf life of a QB is twice that of a RB so Cousins was able to hit the open market in his prime. The franchise tag was designed to protect teams against overpaying for one year wonders. It’s clear that Bell is a franchise RB and he should have been a free agent more than a year ago. He’s being punished for actually producing and it isn’t right.

  14. @justblameTrump…. Wow, you are all lathered up today aren’t you? With all the cliché comments that you use post after post with regards to the Steelers. You MUST be a Browns supporter. …. Sorry.

  15. It takes two sides to get a deal done and the players are siding against a fellow player with ownership. You would never see this happen in any other sport. The Steelers could have let him work out a deal and gotten a trade done.

    Bell is catching more heat than Mack, who got $24 million per year from the Bears. That’s for his 11 sacks last year and making little impact on the Oakland defense. People want to put all of this on Bell though as if he isn’t acting within his rights under the CBA.

  16. Remember when you had a favorite team and you collected their cards and watched them on Sunday and pretty much all you cared about was did they win and how did your favorite guys do?

  17. Uh he did not sign a contract, he wants to be paid long term, like his “rapist” QB. The burg will pay him what they have to, run him into the ground and drop him just like the boys did demarco ….. any idiot who thinks any of the owners care about the players or the fans, is just that, an idiot

  18. rho1953 says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:11 pm
    The guy signed on the dotted line. Agreed to play football for a designated period of time, for a designated salary. He was happy with that at the time, now he wants to “hold out”. Breach of contract. How many of us get to cherry pick our legal obligations?
    ——————————————-
    Ummmm…. Bell isn’t under contract. The Steelers tagged him and he hasn’t signed that agreement that requires him to show up and perform football duties for the Steelers. I’m sure he wasn’t happy either time the Steelers tagged him, last year and this year, while eliminating his ability to negotiate a fair market value contract with 31 other employers.

    Also, you do realize that NFL teams regularly break their contracts with their players and don’t pay the full benefits in those contracts to the players. So, are you made at teams “cherry picking” their legal obligations too?

  19. Pouncie continually stuck up for that murderer that the Patriots paid all of that money to… so you know his opinion is pretty spot on.

    If had any friends you would hope that they would have your back like Pouncey did, but people like you painting with a broad brush rarely have friends….right?

    The men up front are not happy with Bell.

  20. “The Steelers are employing the same “year-to year” tactic used by the ‘Skins on Cousins. ”
    No they aren’t. They actively tried to negotiate with Bell over the course of the two offseasons, offering him 3 separate contracts that would have made him the highest paid player at his position by far. They tagged and negotiated in good faith. The Skins did not, big difference. He can be frustrated by the system, but just like some teams abuse the tag – the tag has been used to over inflate contracts. Tagged players use the tag numbers as a base for negotiations when they were originally intended to be a poison pill for the team. Players that didn’t deserve to get tagged and paid that much did, and then used the tag to leverage higher contract from the teams. The abuse of the tag has benefited and hurt both sides and absolutely needs to be done away with.

  21. rho1953 says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    The guy signed on the dotted line. Agreed to play football for a designated period of time, for a designated salary. He was happy with that at the time, now he wants to “hold out”. Breach of contract. How many of us get to cherry pick our legal obligations? This “holdout” stuff is getting ridiculous.

    What are you talking about? He played out his rookie contract. The Steelers franchised him last year, 2017, he waited, signed his 1 year tender and played. This year, 2018, the Steelers franchised him again. He has kept away and didn’t sign his 1 year tender. A team shouldn’t be able to jack a player around like this. They should do away with all tags. If a team can’t come to an agreement with a player and he is vested, he’s a free agent.

  22. He’s NOT holding out, he’s under no obligation to show up, he has not signed a contract, they franchised tagged him and he has not signed it yet. If I were him I’d stay away until game 10, accrue the season and move on.

  23. Whats going to be even funnier is when Bell is looking for his BIG pay day… and the teams need to ask… “How much do you REALLY love the game and your teammates?”

  24. rho1953 says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:11 pm
    The guy signed on the dotted line. Agreed to play football for a designated period of time, for a designated salary. He was happy with that at the time, now he wants to “hold out”. Breach of contract. How many of us get to cherry pick our legal obligations? This “holdout” stuff is getting ridiculous.

    ———————————

    Bell isn’t actually under contract. He didn’t sign the tag. The reason he isn’t a free agent is because the Steelers hold his rights.

  25. Totally different sport and circumstances but the bell situation reminds me of the orioles and manny machado this year. Manny and Bell’s situation was/is the talk of team. It didn’t bode well for the orioles. Just check their record.

  26. JustBlameTrump, put your cowardice aside for once in your sorry life and tell us who you root for.

  27. I would be livid if I was a Steelers fan. They won’t be able to get anything for him which is a Colbert failure. They should have quietly delat him off for a high 2nd 2 offseasons ago.

    Part of the GMs job is to diagnose the player’s maturity.

    FAIL

  28. williamshatnerstoupee says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:30 pm
    JustBlameTrump, care to show a little courage and let us know which team you follow?

    0 0 Rate This

    —————

    Eirher Colts or Ravens, one of these cheating teams.

    At first, I thought he might have been a Steelers homer like yourself.

  29. I totally get it. These guys have been working their butts off all summer for a fraction of what Bell’s being paid, while this prima donna sits around the house. I kind of felt the same thing was starting to happen with Khalil Mack’s teammates in Oakland. Some of these guys think they’re the savior. Since there’s a salary cap, Bell is just taking money from the pool that pays the other 52 guys.

  30. Tylaw, still throwing your tantrums? Hey, I heard Goodell cheated the Patriots out of a Super Bowl, is that true?

  31. To me, the guy quit in AFC Champ game 2 years ago…”Ice up son”

    Nothing destroys a team faster than this kind of talk, and locker room division that results…Steelers really need to trade him, or could lose this team fast, and they won’t get alot for a guy heading to Free Agency…He’s obviously become a cancer

  32. Tylaw, nothing will change the fact that the Patriots were smoked by a backup quarterback, and nothing will change the fact that you are merely a child throwing a hissy fit.

  33. Can we stop the “RB careers are short, he should hold out!” arguments?

    Most RB careers are short, because many that are drafted don’t see the field. They’re put on special teams, etc unless they are talented enough to crack the rotation. That’s mathematics.

    LeVeon has already had a five year career at a position that averages two and a half years, earning $16M so far, and another $14.5M if he showed up this season. And you want the Steelers to give you a break-the-bank deal for another 4-to-6 years? Guarantee you $60M+?

  34. I would be livid if I was a Steelers fan. They won’t be able to get anything for him which is a Colbert failure. They should have quietly delat him off for a high 2nd 2 offseasons ago.

    Part of the GMs job is to diagnose the player’s maturity.

    FAIL

    Even with your multiple advanced degrees in basket weaving you don’t measure up to some of the toothless yinzers I love. We are all very happy you are a fan of the Cheaters……so glad Goodel like to pick on the Cheats.

  35. Pay him or trade him, seems this is now a distraction to the whole team. Might be too late to pay him, because if he gets paid will the locker room accept him back?

    It’s funny teams have the right to franchise a player, but run the risk of alienating them, RB shelf life is too short, and the window to cash in is too short to blame Bell. One hit and he could be done, so it is his right to not play unless he has a long term deal to his satisfaction.

  36. “Part of the GMs job is to diagnose the player’s maturity”

    Belichick with Aaron Hernandez.

    FAIL.

  37. “He’s NOT holding out, he’s under no obligation to show up, he has not signed a contract, they franchised tagged him and he has not signed it yet. If I were him I’d stay away until game 10, accrue the season and move on.”

    I agree with all of this…except when he goes to show up game 10, I’d tell him no thanks and rescind the tag offer.

    I suppose they could look to trade him if he’d sign the tender in order to be traded, but what could they possibly get for him? The team he goes to can’t sign him to an extension till after the season just like the Steelers can’t at this point either, so what’s the point of giving up anything of major value? You only get him for this year at that salary and not knowing the new team’s playbook. Then you have to HOPE he’ll resign with you next year. Kind of kills any trade value.

  38. I don’t care if a player is upset with any rules or procedures of the sport they play. If you don’t like it, go to Canada. Deal with this like a man. Grow up. You have no right to play in the NFL so consider the privilege you do have. I’m sick of greedy players extorting their wealth only to blow it on fancy cars, loose women, and bad investments.

  39. cadreamer1969 says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:31 pm

    What are you talking about? He played out his rookie contract. The Steelers franchised him last year, 2017, he waited, signed his 1 year tender and played. This year, 2018, the Steelers franchised him again. He has kept away and didn’t sign his 1 year tender. A team shouldn’t be able to jack a player around like this. They should do away with all tags. If a team can’t come to an agreement with a player and he is vested, he’s a free agent.
    ——————–

    It isn’t the Steeler’s fault that this bozo thinks he is worth more than the contracts they offered him.

  40. “Trump /Russia is a fan of the 1-35 Cleveland Browns. That is why he shields his screen name”

    That explains the kid’s bitterness.

  41. I don’t buy this “pay him or trade him” – there is a third alternative – sit him and let him stew. He is the one who made this bed – the Steelers are doing what they have a right to do – and apparently this clown has the right to extort his services so let him enjoy not playing at all this season – or, to be even sweeter to him, trade him on the deadline.

  42. williamshatnerstoupee says:
    September 5, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    “Part of the GMs job is to diagnose the player’s maturity”

    Belichick with Aaron Hernandez.

    FAIL.

    0

    1

    ——————-

    I don’t think maturity has anything to do with sociopathic behavior.

    A better comparison would be the Dominique Easley pick. That was a fail because they did not consider that with him.

    Man, you mouthbreathers in the woods of PA aren’t very bright are you?

    And, the difference between Easley and a Bell is the simple fact BB sees the issue and resolves it.

    The Jets, Steelers, Ravens, etc, all hang onto a problem afraid what the fans may think or the fact their drafting has sucked worse than their own front office and fans are willing to admit.

    Have a nice day!

  43. Nofoolnodrool says:
    September 5, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    I would be livid if I was a Steelers fan. They won’t be able to get anything for him which is a Colbert failure. They should have quietly delat him off for a high 2nd 2 offseasons ago.

    Part of the GMs job is to diagnose the player’s maturity.

    FAIL

    Even with your multiple advanced degrees in basket weaving you don’t measure up to some of the toothless yinzers I love. We are all very happy you are a fan of the Cheaters……so glad Goodel like to pick on the Cheats.

    1

    1

    ——————

    12.3.10

    Bill Cowher: “You know, let me just say this: To answer your question, no, I don’t think so (it’s not an advantage for one team over another).
    I just know as a head coach, you are always looking for a competitive edge. We had people out there trying to look at signals. We had guys go to games. They would tape the signal caller and also write it down. They would take it back and match up the signals with the game film and certain defenses with certain plays that were being called, particularly the defenses being called, to see if we could come up with some kind of an alert for a signal. So, what they did with videotaping the signal caller, people do it with the people in the stands!!
    These people sitting there in the stands, looking at the signal, writing it down and matching up the 1st and 10 signal. Ok? Then you go back again and the 2nd and 10 and here’s the signal. You do that for a whole game.
    You then go back and match up the defenses with the signal. And you can come up with what the signal was.
    So, you don;’t need a video tape with what they were talking about doing. And people were doing it. WE were doing that. Everybody does that. You’re TRYING to gain a competitive edge. There is nothing wrong with that.
    That’s why baseball players go through the mirage of signals. They’ve got all these different codes. That’s part of the competitive spirit of the game. I think it’s totally overblown. I think if you get caught (signals compromised), then do what we did and go to wristbands, you are worried about it. We started putting defenses on wristbands. Then you find a way to not get caught (signals compromised). When your good at something and people try steal from ya, I think it’s flattering.”

  44. Let’s call this what it is….

    RBs get screwed in today’s NFL and Bell’s taking a stand to get what he deserves.

    Owners break contracts. Other players hold out. Bottom line = it’s a business. Bell is making a smart business decision right now.

    His teammates don’t like it. The GM and coaches don’t like it. That’s fine. There’s a simple solution. Pay the man.

  45. williamshatnerstoupee says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:30 pm
    JustBlameTrump, care to show a little courage and let us know which team you follow?

    ——–

    Yes indeed! Tell us JustBlameTrump….for what perennial loser do you cheer?

  46. nathanp2013 says:

    Pouncie continually stuck up for that murderer that the Patriots paid all of that money to
    ===========================================

    They were boyfriends.

  47. Pitt should offer him a $1 more per over the highest salaried RB for 3 yrs. If he won’t sign, trade him or rescind the offer. One of these days it’s going to resonate that signing 2/3 year deals is the way to maximize your earning potential. But that requires assuming some risk of injury(or poor performance). One day a star player will do it and when they see the dollars, other players will do the same.

  48. Also, you do realize that NFL teams regularly break their contracts with their players and don’t pay the full benefits in those contracts to the players. So, are you made at teams “cherry picking” their legal obligations too?

    —————————–

    I realize you are misinformed. A player retiring with years on his contract, and a team cutting a player with years on his contract are the same thing.

    the contract length only means no other team can employee him during that time frame, it doesn’t turn into servitude for either side.

  49. So when a player of Bells caliber makes a business decision, some tick turds are upset?

    My advice sit out to week 10, cash your checks, and walk after 2018. After all it’s his body.

  50. who cares who trump roots for, we all know it’s his butt buddy putin anyway.

    and that’s the bottom line, cause i just said so.

  51. pouncey got his feelers hurt? aww but running with aaron hernandez all those years didn’t bother him at all? sounds a bit loopy.

  52. williamshatnerstoupee says:
    September 5, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    The Steelers continue to live comfortably inside the trolls’ heads.
    ###########
    The Bortles and Tebow playoff debacles continue to give you night sweats. The 2 worst QBs to ever play in the playoffs both beat the Steelers.

  53. bizmaukee
    Sep 5, 2018, 8:52 PM EDT
    The dumb Steelers wer nothing before Le’veon arrived- they’ll go back to being irrelevant if they screw this up- pay the man

    Excuse me the Steelers have a wonderful history b4 Bell and will have after the idiot leaves so glad that he won’t get over paid in Pittsburgh let him be someone else’s headache I hope he gets turf toe and it ends his career

  54. “One hit could end his career, he should hold out”

    So the Steelers should guarantee him sixty million, knowing “one hit could end his career”?

    Trade him to Saskatchewan.

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