Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey defended his teammate Le'Veon Bell after the running back unofficially announced he'd be returning to the team on Sept. 1.
Bell has yet to sign his franchise tender that would make him the NFL's highest-paid running back at $12.1 million this season, but is preparing to join the team ahead of the regular season.
Pouncey fully supported Bell's decision to skip most of the summer.
"People catch feelings about certain things. I think anybody in his situation would do the same exact thing. I would. We'll see how things turn out. I'm pretty sure he'll come in here and ball out like normal, things that Le'Veon does in the pass game and the running game," Pouncey said via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Bell's decision to miss the start of the preseason wasn't met with universal praise, however. Ben Roethlisberger questioned whether Bell would be in shape ahead of the upcoming campaign Wednesday.
Pouncey didn't agree with that notion whatsoever.
"Trust me, L. Bell wants to be here. He wants to be a football player, he wants to be the best running back in the NFL. At the same time, it's business. ... The fans don't (understand). But we do."
One of the NFL's marquee running backs, Bell's return to the Steelers only makes the AFC finalist more formidable as they look to unseat the reigning champion New England Patriots.
