Steelers players are in the building in Pittsburgh, back from their bye week, but I’m told RB LeVeon Bell is not among them. The wait continues…

Related players: James Conner

A story also broke on Sunday that the team doesn't plan to trade Bell, and they expect Bell to return at some point and remain on the roster through 2019 and then become a free agent. Other reports say Bell will return ahead of Week 9 while others think he could remain away through Week 10, because at that point he has to return to the team in order to become a free agent next year. Until he is back, Conner remains the team's RB1.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, LeVeon Bell does not plan to report this week to the Steelers, despite what he previously said.

Related players: James Conner

The next target date for Bell could be Monday, Oct. 22, when the work week rolls over and the Steelers begin preparations for their Week 8 divisional matchup against the Browns. The story added there is some belief he may wait until after the trade deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to report. Doing so would shut down any opportunity the Steelers have of trading him -- they cannot do so until he signs his franchise tender.

This just in from Steelers source : The Steelers are not expecting Le’Veon Bell to show up this week despite previous reports.

Related players: James Conner

And here we go again. The timing to show up this week made a lot of sense with the team's bye week, giving Bell extra time to get up to speed - if he even remained with the team. But for now, Bell remains out. It's possible he still actually shows up this week.

Steelers starting to get into HQ this morning after yesterday’s big win. One player just messaged me: No sign of RB LeVeon Bell.

Related players: James Conner

This could likely be the first of many updates this week. Steeler players meet today, Kinkhabwala went on to say, practice Tuesday and Wednesday and are then off until next Monday. There is not a lot of clarity to this situation, and the Steelers are predicted to continue to use Conner even if Bell returns. It could be a long couple weeks for both Conner and Bell owners until there are more answers.

Ben Roethlisberger thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers gladly will accept LeVeon Bell if he rejoins the team during its bye in two weeks – on one condition.

“If he can come back and help us and be ready to go, then we’ll be ready to welcome him back,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his 93.7 FM radio segment. “There were a lot of things said earlier this year, but that’s in the past. We’ve moved on, and he’s moving on in a sense to getting back and being with us.”

Related players: James Conner

Big Ben was quoted as saying he doesn't think the team needs Bell to step right in and get 30 carries a game, since he likely won't be in game shape upon his return. It's certainly a change in tone from a few weeks ago when the team tried to distance itself from Bell. At 1-2-1, it seems they realize they could use Bell's services. There are reports the Steelers are still trying to trade Bell, however, this story certainly seems to open the door to a return to Pittsburgh.

LeVeon Bell expects to report to the Steelers during the Week 7 bye, a source told @ESPN. Bell definitely plans to play football for the Steelers this season.

Related players: James Conner

It will be interesting to see if all is forgiven with Bell and his teammates, or if rumors hold true and the Steelers continue to try and trade the back. Reporting in Week 7 gives Bell extra time to get up to speed and means he'll potentially play 10 games this year. At this point, the Steelers are 1-2-1 on the season and it seems like they could use Bell's services if they want to make a playoffs push. For Conner owners, this means two more weeks of getting starter snaps before Bell potentially takes over.

The thought of LeVeon Bell entering the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room at any time this season -- or perhaps ever again -- is almost laughable right now.

The report from ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Steelers are now listening to trade offers is the latest development in a story trending toward a quick and painless divorce, if it hasn't happened already.

Both sides appear to be moving on, at least mentally. That the Steelers are open for business would only reinforce that belief.

Related players: James Conner

The Steelers don't want to go through this again next year, and Bell knows that. The team has options if Bell continues to sit. Article 10, Section 15 of the collective bargaining agreement states that if a franchise player doesn't play in a league year, the team "shall have the right" to designate him as a franchise player once again, though once that tag is in place, the draft compensation in a trade would drop from two first-round picks to a first- and a third-round pick. That's a right the Steelers "shall" not take. Bell is making this so difficult that only pettiness from the franchise would keep him around next year.

The story added a trade doesn't make sense because the team getting him inherits the franchise tag. Besides, Bell's goal seems to be to get to free agency.

The story also added, as one NFL general manager said, teams won't want to A) meet Bell's demands for $15-plus million per year with a big guarantee, B) give up big draft capital for a running back, and C) deal with the franchise tag dynamics to do so. Maybe a team would accept A or B, but all three is asking a lot.

Despite coach Mike Tomlin’s assertion that nothing has changed in regards to LeVeon Bell’s status with the Pittsburgh Steelers, one thing was noticeably different Tuesday.

Bell no longer was listed on the team’s official depth chart.

After being listed as a starter in advance of the season opener in Cleveland, Bell was nowhere to be found on the depth chart released Tuesday. James Conner, who totaled 192 scrimmage yards in the 21-21 tie against the Browns, was listed as the starter.

Rookie Jaylen Samuels was listed as the backup, with veteran Stevan Ridley occupying the third spot.

At his weekly press conference Tuesday, Tomlin said he has not contacted Bell and has received no clarity on when he might report. Bell remains absent and will forfeit $855,000 in salary for each week he misses while declining to sign his $14.544 million franchise-tag tender.

The Steelers buses are on the road to Cleveland and RB Le’Veon Bell is not on them, I’m told. Bell will leave a $855K game check on the table and the wait is on. James Conner is their starter until Bell is back.

Only two things seem plausible in this standoff because of league rules involved with franchise tagged players. Either Bell reports and signs the franchise tag, or he continues to be AWOL. Because of the franchise tag, the Steelers and Bell canonot negotiate a long-term deal until after the season, even if he signs the franchise tag tender. It's also unlikely the Steelers would trade Bell if he signs the tender, because another team couldn't give him a long-term deal either (like the Bears did with Khalil Mack), because Bell would still be on the franchise tag. Why would another team trade for Bell unsure if he'll be there past this year? The team could pull the franchise tag, but that would instantly make Bell a free agent, which would essentially reward Bell for his holdout, giving him the freedom to negotiate a long-term deal with any team and potentially put him on the roster of one of the Steelers' AFC rivals this season. Ultimately, it appears Bell must decide whether he wants to play on the franchise tag again for a portion of this season or risk sitting out a full year, believing the open market will still pay him handsomely in the offseason.

Mike Tomlin on whether LeVeon Bell will report Wed: "I hadn't thought about it. We'll see. When he gets here, that's when we'll start."

Related players: James Conner

Tomlin doesn't have much of a choice to say anything else . The Steelers have to move on at least for now. As we talked about earlier today with an ESPN story, it's possible the team can get Bell ready in five days if he reports Wednesday and is in shape and ready to go. Even so, Bell is becoming a risky option for Week 1 and Conner should be added.