Roethlisberger questions whether Bell will return in 'football shape'

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been fairly tight lipped regarding the absence of teammate Le'Veon Bell this offseason, but some of his concerns about the team's star tailback are finally coming to light.

"I don't know if he'll be ready to play every single play like he does typically during the season," Roethlisberger said Wednesday to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette when asked about Bell's return.

Bell tweeted out Tuesday that he will be returning to the team on Sept. 1, just in time for the regular season.

Though Bell has spent his entire four-year career with the Steelers, Roethlisberger still sees cause for concern regarding his starting running back's conditioning and preparation after missing training camp and most of the preseason.

"There's in-shape and there's football shape," Roethlisberger said. "There's running around in shorts and T-shirt and putting the pads on and getting hit."

Roethlisberger added that the offense has installed more new plays than usual this offseason and Bell will be required to catch up in the film room, as well as on the field.

"That's on him, how much studying he wants to do," Roethlisberger said.

The good news for Big Ben and the Steelers is that Bell is used to getting up to speed quickly. He was suspended to start both of the last two seasons and it didn't appear to diminish his play, though he did suffer a significant knee injury that limited him to six games in 2015.

It was reported earlier in the offseason that Bell wasn't responding to Roethlisberger's texts, so it's possible the signal-caller's comments are one last chance to air his grievances publicly before Bell rejoins the team.

It shouldn't take long to find out if Roethlisberger's concerns were overblown, as the Steelers open their season Sept.10 versus the Cleveland Browns.