“He is a stud when it comes to working out and training,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think this is an awesome opportunity for the other guys.”

Roethlisberger’s comments on Bell echo what Antonio Brown had to say about their disgruntled teammate. On the other hand, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin declined to articulate the same sentiments in as friendly a manner, and it bears mentioning that Tomlin already has grown weary of Bell chatter despite camp just opening.

Bell may be spending his final year with the Steelers in 2018 given the protracted contact impasse. In light of that possibility, Roethlisberger recognizes the onus is on the Steelers to make a run at a Super Bowl with the multi-talented Bell still in the fold.

“Obviously we want to have everybody around as long as we can, all the weapons you can have, especially someone like him,” Roethlisberger said. “This is the ultimate team sport. You can’t just do it with just one guy, you have to have a collective group, and I think our collective group is pretty good.”