New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: 4 suspended stars

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3. Le’Veon Bell

Brady is fortunate to at least have a shot at overturning his four-game punishment. Bell is not as lucky.

Bell will miss the first two games of the season because of the DUI and marijuana possession chargers he incurred around this time last year.

The absence of Bell in the opener will translate to increased playing time for guys like DeAngelo Williams and Dri Archer. To add insult to injury, or rather injury to insult, star center Maurkice Pouncey is out for the season. The loss of Pouncey will intensify the absence of Bell, as he was the keystone player on the Steelers’ offensive line.

In 2014, Bell was scary good. He played in all 16 regular season games, recording 1,361 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 290 carries (good for a 4.7 yards per carry average) as well as 83 receptions for 854 yards and a trio of touchdown catches.

Bell has played just one game against the Patriots since entering the NFL two years ago. In a Patriots’ victory last season, Bell rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries and caught four balls for 65 yards.

The Steelers (and the collective fantasy football community) will miss Bell quite a bit in the first three weeks of the season.

Next: 2. LeGarrette Blount