Le'Veon Bell, JuJu Smith-Schuster trying to get LeBron James to play for the Steelers
The Steelers finished the 2017 season with a 13-3 record, their best mark since 2004, when then-rookie Ben Roethlisberger led the team to a 15-1 mark. Despite the regular-season success, Pittsburgh lost to Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs and fell short of its goal: another Super Bowl title.
With Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster set to return -- and Le'Veon Bell optimistic about signing a long-term deal this offseason -- there's every reason to believe that the Steelers will again be among the NFL's best teams in 2018. But you can never have too many good players, which explains recent recruiting pitches from Smith-Schuster and Bell.
Specifically, they want to bring LeBron James to Pittsburgh. To play football.
No word on how Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, who wears the same No. 23 as James, feels about all this. That said, James's make-believe NFL career would likely be at tight end, or playing a role similar to Smith-Schuster's, which he excelled at in high school where he scored 27 touchdowns and was twice an all-state receiver in Ohio.
Should James make himself available for NFL duty, the Steelers will have competition. Here's Tom Brady last week:
NBA player Tom Brady would want for Pats? "LeBron," he said. "Tight end. Split him out, just throw it up. He'd come down with a lot of them" — Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 31, 2017
And when Rex Ryan was still the Bills' coach, he said on more than one occasion that he wanted James to be his tight end.
Back in 2013, James said he'd like to play in one NFL game "before it's over," though the 33-year-old may have since reconsidered. In case you're wondering, James is an avowed Cowboys fan who also pulls for the Browns and counts Carson Wentz as his favorite NFL player.