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Le'Veon Bell will sit out the Pittsburgh Steelers' home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and miss his second consecutive game, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. As Schefter noted, Bell has now forfeited $1.7 million of the $14.5 million salary that the franchise tag provides. Bell's absence is not technically considered a holdout because the veteran is not currently under contract, but he will not be in uniform for Week 2 regardless of the label. The Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bell for the second consecutive year as the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. While he reported nine days before the season opener a year ago, he has yet to sign the franchise tender this time around, nor has he given a timeline on when he will do so. And that has ruffled feathers in the locker room. "If you don't want to be here, it is what it is, hold out 10 games, as a team we're totally fine," Pittsburgh c...

This game is either going to be another in a long line of bitter disappointments, or the gate to a shining future. Here are some things that might tell you which result is more likely. 1. Can the  Steelers  build a wall Patrick Mahomes can’t (yet) climb? Right now, it’s reasonable to think anything is possible for this young quarterback. Regardless of what happens on Sunday, it’s likely that a time is coming when there won’t be an NFL defense Patrick Mahomes can’t beat. So here’s the question: is that time is coming sooner, or later? Playing against Pittsburgh’s blitzes and zone coverages will be the hardest test Mahomes has yet faced. If he passes this test, that time is likely coming soon. 2. Can the  Chiefs  make  Ben Roethlisberger  less effective — even a little? Remember after the playoff loss to the Steelers, when there was all the discussion about how ineffective  Alex Smith  had been? Well... “Big Ben” didn’t play any be...