Free agent running back Le’Veon Bell admitted that during his playing days, he would regularly smoke marijuana prior to games.

Speaking on an episode of the ‘Steel Here’ podcast, Bell admitted to his drug use and appeared to indicate that it helped his performance.  

‘Looking back on this, that’s what I did,’ Bell said. ‘When I was playing football, I smoked, bro. Even before the games, I’d smoke and I’d go out there and run for 150, two [touchdowns].’

‘You get that one drug test [a year] and then you’re good… with me, it was never me failing drug tests. It was that scent happened and I got caught.

‘So it was like a public thing and now I’m in the program. So that ended up happening and I ended up getting suspended for the first four games [of 2015].’

Le'Veon Bell spoke on the 'Steel Here' podcast about his time in Pittsburgh and his drug issues

Le’Veon Bell spoke on the ‘Steel Here’ podcast about his time in Pittsburgh and his drug issues

Bell admitted that he would smoke marijuana before games and that helped his performance

Bell admitted that he would smoke marijuana before games and that helped his performance

Bell would go on to be suspended again in 2016 due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Later on in the podcast, Bell seemed to indicate he had buyers remorse when it came to his not-so-pretty exit from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The former All-Pro famously refused to sign a franchise tag with Pittsburgh in 2018, sitting out the entire season before signing with the New York Jets in 2019.

‘Yeah, it was a little petty, the little guarantee stuff,’ Bell said Friday. ‘I’m thinking like, damn, could I have really just ate it? Yeah, I probably could’ve. Probably could’ve really ate it.’

Bell told the podcast that the Steelers only wanted to guarantee the first year of his extension – which the rusher said wasn’t enough security for him.

‘I didn’t want to leave Pittsburgh. At the end of the day, that’s where I was at. That’s where I got drafted at. 

‘Especially after going to different teams and seeing how it is, when a team has their guy, you’re their guy. I was Pittsburgh’s guy.’

Bell also said he regretted the 'petty' way he held out of playing for the Steelers in 2018

Bell also said he regretted the ‘petty’ way he held out of playing for the Steelers in 2018

That holdout left him as a free agent - where he eventually signed with the Jets in 2019

That holdout left him as a free agent – where he eventually signed with the Jets in 2019

Eventually, Bell settled on the Jets – where he collected a big pay day but failed to find consistency in his performance.

Bell also found that he wasn’t able to replicate his form in Pittsburgh – in part due to the ‘terrible’ coaching of then-Jets-skipper Adam Gase.

‘Bro, we get to New York, and that’s when you instantly find out that head coaches make a huge difference,’ Bell said. ‘As soon as I get to New York I find that out like the first week. … Bro, the team wasn’t that great, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like if Coach [Mike] Tomlin [of the Steelers] was coaching that team, we win nine games at least. 

‘It’s to the point where [ex-Jets quarterback] Sam Darnold don’t even know like the actual line’s protections because he’s so confused about our offense because the coach is confusing him.’

He was eventually released in 2020 and spent time with Kansas City, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay across 2020 and 2021. Bell hasn’t appeared for an NFL team since.

Bell also told the podcast that he hasn’t officially retired and hopes that he could return to the team that drafted him before that happens.

Bell joined a Jets team led by Adam Gase, a coach that the former All-Pro back called 'terrible'

Bell joined a Jets team led by Adam Gase, a coach that the former All-Pro back called ‘terrible’

Bell bounced around - playing with the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bucs before being cut

Bell bounced around – playing with the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bucs before being cut

‘I never officially retired,’ Bell said. ‘The day when I do retire, it’s gonna be with Pittsburgh. Like, I’m trying to retire with Pittsburgh. 

‘But before I do that, I might be like, ‘Hey, let me get a couple carries in the preseason so I can show you all something.’

‘With the Steelers, I would do the little preseason, like alright, boom boom, but I would not do that anywhere else. Because I don’t even think about playing, it literally would only be in Pittsburgh. 

‘Pittsburgh is where I’ll retire, you know what I’m saying, that’s just it. Because I already been other places. It’s not Pittsburgh.’

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Post source: Daily mail

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