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There were reports earlier this month that said Le'Veon Bell would be back with the Steelers after their bye week.

Well, their bye week is over, and he isn’t.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the disgruntled running back did not join the rest of his teammates when the Steelers reported Monday morning after their bye weekend.

At this point, it’s unclear when he’ll be back. We’re sort of assuming it’s not “if” he returns, because his goal is to get to free agency, and he needs to accrue a season to do that. That means showing up soon.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II said that he didn’t anticipate Bell being traded, and if Bell doesn’t report before next Tuesday’s trade deadline, that’s a moot point. But there could still be some lingering disagreement about whether he’d be subject to a roster exemption when he gets back, which would pay him less than his $855,000 per week.