The Pittsburgh Steelers have Le'Veon Bell dealing with a knee injury and he could be out for the season after being carted off against the Bengals in Week 8. DeAngelo Williams will take over as the starter and he is a solid fantasy football pickup option moving forward into Week 9 for Ben Roethlisberger, who returned from an injury.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Bell suffered a torn MCL injury against the Bengals and he likely will be out for the season. The team is having bell undergo an MRI to confirm the injury and if the injury comes back positive for a tear, he will be placed on injured reserve, which will end his season. Losing Bell is a major blow for the Steelers, as the team just got back Ben Roethlisberger from a knee injury and Bell has been the most consistent offensive player for the team this year.
Bell previously missed the first two games of the season with a suspension and he came back and was very productive in six games for the Steelers. Bell had nearly 700 total yards gained in six games and he now finishes the season with 556 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers were "optimistic" that Bell did not tear his ACL coming out of the game Sunday, but the injury is serious enough to keep the running back out for the rest of the season.
Williams performed very well during the first two weeks of the season while stepping in for Bell and now he will have to do that again. During those two games Williams had 224 total yards and three touchdowns and now he will take over as the starter for Bell and the Steelers. This season Williams has 310 rushing yards and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and while he is not the talent that Bell is, he can step in and keep the rushing attack consistent for Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger had been out since Week 3 with a knee injury and he was able to return against the Bengals in Week 8. Roethlisberger did not have a good game with three interceptions and 262 passing yards while completing 62 percent of his passes, but he was matched up with one of the best defenses in the league in the Bengals. The Steelers offense had struggled without Roethlisberger in the lineup and now the team will have to find a way to get things going without Bell.
Last season Bell had the highest percentage of yards gained on offense for a team by a single player and this season he was putting up strong numbers again. Bell now will have to sit on the sidelines for the Steelers and that puts more pressure on Roethlisberger and the passing offense to get things done. The team is well suited to pick things up with talent like Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant on the outside, but losing Bell is going to be tough to overcome, even if Williams plays well.
