bent spindle on 48" walk behind

Is there any personal danger to still running the mower with one of the deck spindles slightly bent? It still spins fine and cuts well, but there is a definite tight spot. I think its been like this for awhile also. Does anyone have any experience what happens if the bearing should seize? I'd prefer to just run it until the bearing goes, but if there is a high risk of spindle/blade going off I'm going to take care of it. However, my gut feeling is that the bearing will overheat/ or gall and seize, at which point I'll probably just waste a belt.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Have you ever watched a helicopter crash and the blades come off and fly everywhere and mess up everything in its path?

I'll admit I knew the right answer before I posted this. The bearing could fail harmlessly, but it could also not. I couldn't imagine loosing a foot to save 100$.