Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers star Le'Veon Bell knows exactly what he wants to do in free agency

Published Dec. 28, 2016 7:21 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their playoff run, but the franchise already has one eye on free agency. And their priority is re-signing Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell, who is enjoying a career year in Pittsburgh.

Well, Bell isn’t holding his cards too close to his vest regarding his free-agent plans.

"I want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler," Bell told reporters Wednesday, via ESPN. "We're going to try to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

Bell’s comments come on the same day the team voted him team MVP, an award he rightly deserves. The fourth-year back leads the NFL with 157 yards from scrimmage per game and has amassed 1,884 total yards and nine touchdowns.

Bell has enjoyed a breakout campaign despite missing the first three games of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. If the Steelers can’t come to terms on a multi-year deal with the 24-year-old star, they could franchise tag him for $12.37 million.

But Bell’s focus is on his teammates. He expressed how moved he was by the honor they gave him Wednesday.

"That I haven't even played the full season this year coming off injury and suspension and they still voted me the team's MVP means everything in the world to me," Bell said. "Those guys know I've overcame a lot of obstacles, they know the things I went through with social media and people on the outside, whatever it was, overcoming my knee in training, I think those guys respect the way I handled myself over the course of this year."