Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell wasn't with teammates Monday as the team shifts focus to the start of the regular season.
Bell's absence certainly didn't go unnoticed by upper management.
"We are disappointed Le'Veon Bell has not signed his franchise tender and rejoined his teammates," Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement released by the team. "Coach Mike] Tomlin and the coaching staff will continue to focus on preparing the players on our roster for our regular-season opener on Sunday against the [Cleveland Browns."
For a second consecutive summer, Bell has stayed away from team activities since the deadline for teams signing franchise-tagged players to an extension passed on July 16. Bell's agent, Adisa Bakari, released a statement and pointed out that "this now likely will be Le'Veon's last season as a Steeler."
While Bell reported in time for Week 1 last year, it remains unclear when he will show up before the first game.
Bell will stand to lose money if he misses games at a hefty cost of more than $855,000 per game.
