Pittsburgh Steelers News: Le’Veon Bell Enters Drug Offender Program, Could Face Suspension

The Pittsburgh Steelers could be without running back Le’Veon Bell for two games after the electrifying second-year player agreed to enter a first-time offenders program for marijuana possession and driving charges.

Bell will receive 15 months of probation and will attend highway safety classes and a DUI group therapy after accepting the deal.

Bell was arrested with former teammate LaGarrette Blount in August outside of Pittsburgh on their way to a team plane. An officer said the players and their car smelled of marijuana, and they both admitted to buying and smoking it. Bell said he “didn’t know that you could get a DUI for being high.”

On Wednesday, Bell announced that he had accepted the deal.

“[The Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program] is an attractive alternative to trial for first-time offenders because … it allows the individual to earn a dismissal and expungement of the record,” said Bell’s lawyer, Robert Del Greco, said.

Bell said he was ready to move on after the arrest.

“I am glad to put (the incident) behind me, but I am not worried about that now,” Bell said Wednesday, according to the report.

Though he avoids jail time, Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers may not be in the clear just yet. Under league rules, Bell could face a two-game suspension for his drug arrest.

The loss could be costly to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who sit a game and a half game behind the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North. The two teams will face off on Sunday in Cincinnati.

Le’Veon Bell is third in the NFL with 1,046 rushing yards. He has three touchdowns on the ground to go along with 65 catches and 643 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Bell has also faced a difficult few years in the NFL, suffering a concussion and foot injury in his rookie year, but has overcome the injuries in his second year and helped the Pittsburgh Steelers to turn around their 30th ranked rushing game into a potent ground game.