Pittsburgh Steelers release RB Blount after troubled backup left nationally televised game

By RYAN GORMAN

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released a player after he quit on the team Monday night and walked off the field during a nationally televised game.

Troubled running back LeGarrette Blount reportedly walked off the field upset with his lack of carries during a game against the Tennessee Titans. He was released Tuesday shortly after the team returned to Pittsburgh.

The team made the announcement only minutes after star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, himself no stranger to controversy, slammed the second-string tailback in comments to KDKA.

"That is not what the Pittsburgh Steelers are," said Big Ben. "It's not what we are about."

Reports swirled around the team following an impressive, come-from-behind 27-24 win over the Titans in Nashville on Monday Night Football.

Roethlisberger acknowledged them, but said he did not have all the details surrounding exactly what happened.

Sources told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Blount walked off the field, showered, dressed and headed for the team bus while his teammates were still in the throes of a tight game.

The backup has 266 yards rushing this season on 65 carries.

Starter Le'Veon Bell, who ran 33 times for 204 yards, has 951 carries on 195 carries.

Bell has clearly outplayed Blount this season, but Blount reportedly had already complained to a local radio station about his lack of in-game action.

Blount, a former star for the University of Oregon, has also reportedly been a locker room problem for the last month, sources told the paper.

The former Oregon Duck has played for four teams in his five NFL seasons.

He was suspended for the entirety of his senior year after punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the jaw following a game between the two schools.

He also was fingered as "the leader" of a 2011 group assault of a person in a Tampa parking garage, but never faced charges in the attack.

Blount and Bell were also notably arrested prior to this season for marijuana possession.

Bell is having a career year and looks to have a bright future in the league.

This could very well have been Blount's last stop.

Related links:
Steelers RBs Le'Veon Bell & LeGarrette Blount Busted for Marijuana
Steelers now Beliebers?