Ramon Foster on Steelers: ‘It would be a shame if we’re not in Atlanta playing for the Super Bowl’

Ramon Foster isn’t thinking about a Pittsburgh Steelers future without Le’Veon Bell at running back.

Foster, who is entering his 10th season as an offensive guard, understands that the contract dispute between Bell and the Steelers could lead to Bell moving on in free agency in 2019.

‘Everybody’s up in arms about having Le’Veon long term and however you want to put it, but this sport is year-to-year regardless’

But Foster knows that Bell will be his teammate this season and, along with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and other difference-makers on offense, the veteran lineman believes there is enough talent for the team to go the distance THIS SEASON.

“Everybody’s up in arms about having Le’Veon long term and however you want to put it, but this sport is year-to-year regardless,” Foster told Bruce Murray and Brady Quinn on the SiriusXM Blitz. “You can go from being on top to (having) the No. 1 overall pick because you have a bad season. That’s my focus and the guys that are around me, too, is right now. And us having Le’Veon just this year, with the tools that we have on this team — especially offensively — it would be a shame if we’re not in Atlanta playing for the Super Bowl.”

‘We still get a chance to get this dynamic athlete, player for at least one more year’

Foster has been around long enough to understand that there is much more to football than what happens on the field. That’s why he views Bell’s situation through more of a business than emotional perspective.

“As much as this thing is a sport, a business is run behind it for whatever reason, neither side can come to a conclusion or an agreement on what they wanted to do,” Foster said. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s one of those things where Le’Veon is still being paid about $14 million. And there’s words of him holding out or not showing up at games. I don’t know if he’ll go that far, but we still get a chance to get this dynamic athlete, player for at least one more year. What happens after this year, it’s up for grabs, but it’ll be interesting for sure the next free agency (period).”

‘Getting that close and consistently being in the race is one thing, but there’s no other feeling that you’ll get (that compares to) a Super Bowl championship’

For now, it’s all about this year. And it’s about making up for last January’s 45-42 divisional-round playoff loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“Big time, because we dropped the ball in a couple of (instances),” Foster said. “There were some games we lost that we shouldn’t have lost early on in the season. Then we get to the playoffs and lose the way we did, also. Getting that close and consistently being in the race is one thing, but there’s no other feeling that you’ll get (that compares to) a Super Bowl championship. I played in one and we lost in one, to Green Bay, in 2010. And for me, now being in year 10 and the guys that we have up front on the offensive line, we have a future Hall of Fame quarterback, a future Hall of Fame wide receiver, we’ve got a defense that’s growing up.”