In 2014, a knee injury sustained against Cincinnati prevented Bell from playing in the playoffs against Baltimore.

So he intends to be more careful this time around, against the Bengals and whatever other teams show up on the Steelers' schedule.

"I feel like I just have to protect myself," said Bell.

That includes protecting himself from rushing back too fast.

"Right now, I am just trying to do what the coaches tell me to do," said Bell. "They are trying to protect me from myself. I am listening to those people, taking care of my body, doing what I can. They are getting me back into it slowly. Right now, I feel like I could do everything. But obviously, they are going to protect me from myself, like I said, and really take it slow for me."

Bell addressed a number of other subjects upon completion of the first of the Steelers' 10 scheduled OTAs.

Among them:

The confidence he has in his repaired knee: "Obviously, when I come back out here, my first time cutting, my first time doing things, you kind of think about it. It's more mental because I know my knee is strong enough to do everything. It's kind of like mental because I haven't done it in a long time. I think once I get rid of that mental relapse I'll be just fine."