Le’Veon Bell took aim at the Steelers’ front office on Thursday, using Joey Porter Jr.’s trade to Dallas as the latest flashpoint in a criticism he says goes deeper than one roster move.
On X, the former Pittsburgh running back tied the Porter deal to what he sees as a broader pattern with the franchise and its treatment of Black players it drafts. “I wish pittsburgh paid their black superstars they drafted just like they pay their white ones they draft .. hate to see porter get traded,” Bell wrote.
He didn’t stop there. Bell also pointed to George Pickens, another former Steeler who ended up in Dallas, while making a point to separate T.J.
Watt from the rest of his complaint: “I thought same thing with pickens? TJ Watt is worth every penny tho, so let’s not get it confused .. but something needs to change.”
Porter’s move became official Wednesday after he and Pittsburgh couldn’t land on a contract extension. The Cowboys sent back a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick, according to multiple reports. Porter had already sat out the Steelers’ first three games because of the contract standoff and a reported back issue, and he was entering the final year of his rookie deal.
Pittsburgh made Porter the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he grew into a notable piece of the secondary.
Bell’s reference to Pickens points back to a separate trade the Steelers made with Dallas in May 2025. In that deal, Pittsburgh received a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, while sending Pickens and a 2027 sixth-rounder to the Cowboys.
There’s also obvious personal history behind Bell’s words. He went through a major contract fight with the Steelers himself after they placed the franchise tag on him in 2018 and couldn’t reach a long-term agreement. Bell never reported that season, leaving $14.5 million on the table before eventually moving on to the New York Jets.
Watt was the one name Bell made sure to leave out of the criticism. Pittsburgh drafted the linebacker in the first round in 2017, gave him a four-year extension worth $112 million in 2021, and later signed him to another four-year contract in 2025. Bell’s post didn’t explain Pittsburgh’s thinking on Porter or Pickens, but it made clear how he read the situation.
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