Steelers Land Former Lions Running Back

The Steelers have signed former Lions running back Greg Bell to a contract, the team announced on Tuesday.

Bell came out of San Diego State and had a stint in 2022 with the Detroit Lions. But was injured and suffered a hamstring in training camp. He would then come back for 2023 but the team waived him back on July 22nd. Over his college career at three different stops, Bell racked up over 4000 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. In his final season with the Aztecs, he posted over 1000 rushing yards with the team.

The move comes with the signing of former Penn State RB John Lovett. Lovett and Bell will join the team and try to get caught up to speed quickly. Both players were part of the five players that the Steelers worked out yesterday for their open roster spots.

Lovett played with Penn State in 2021 after transferring out of Baylor, where he played from 2017 to 2020. During his time at college with the Nittany Lions and Baylor, he put up 1980 yards and 17 touchdowns over five years in the NCAA. His best season was in 2019 when Lovett posted 655 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 103 rushes with the Baylor Bears.

t comes after the Steelers lost rookie running back Alfonzo Graham. He is dealing with a right shoulder injury and it will cost him the rest of the 2023 season. He missed practice on Sunday, sporting a sling on his right shoulder, and seemingly did not look like he was going to suit up. Well, on Monday, Graham tweeted that he suffered a torn labrum and would miss the 2023 season. That left the running back room a little short. But the team would release Jason Huntley to make room for Bell, with Graham not being waived due to the injury.

In addition, fullback Monte Pottebaum retired on Sunday. That left the team with only 88 players on their 90-man roster. Lovett will fill Graham’s spot, but there is still one other roster spot open that the team can decide to fill, and they likely will fill it before the start of Tuesday’s first padded practice.