Report: Bell expected to sit out Week 1

Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell is expected to continue his holdout into the first game of the regular season against the Cleveland Browns, barring an unforeseen development, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

It was assumed Bell would stay away from the team but return for Week 1, as he did last year while also under the franchise tag, but his agent hinted otherwise Wednesday.

"He's going to do the things necessary to protect his value long term," Adisa Bakari said.

Despite Bell's absence, the Steelers reportedly don't intend to rescind his $14.5-million franchise-tag tender, which he has yet to sign.

Related - Roethlisberger: We'd like to have Bell, but 'we've got a lot of weapons'

Bell had a league-high 404 touches last season for Pittsburgh, and the 26-year-old apparently doesn't want to carry such an enormous workload again without his long-term future secured.

"Le'Veon has several years left in football; we know his days in Pittsburgh are precarious at best; we also know how he's been utilized in the past by the Steelers organization," Bakari said.

"That's nothing to say negative about the Steelers. They had one of the best players to play the position and they used him heavily for the production he can provide, but in doing so, you take away from his future years."

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