Le'Veon Bell and Pittsburgh Steelers appear destined to part ways after next season

Jay Asser 18:00 17/07/2018
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  • Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension.

    With Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers unable to reach a long-term contract extension before Monday’s franchise tag deadline, the running back is likely heading into his final season with the team.

    The two sides had until 16:00 (EST) on Monday to secure a long-term deal after the Steelers slapped the franchise tag on Bell for a second consecutive year, which will pay him $14.5 million for the coming season.

    Now, Bell and Pittsburgh appear destined to part ways next offseason when he will almost certainly hit free agency.

    Bell’s agent, Adisa Bakari, confirmed as much, telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “His intention was to retire as a Steeler. But now that there’s no deal, the practical reality is this now likely will be Le’Veon’s last season as a Steeler.”

    Theoretically, Pittsburgh could hold on to Bell next year by either wielding the franchise tag again or finally working out a long-term contract.

    It’s extremely unlikely that the Steelers will go the franchise tag route because with Bell having already been tagged the past two years, tagging him for a third-straight season would mean paying him 144 per cent of his previous salary – $20.88 million.

    There’s a better chance of Bell and the Steelers reaching a deal, but even that scenario seems far-fetched at this point. Bell has reportedly turned down multi-year contracts that would pay him slightly less annually than the $14.5m he’s set to make this year, with the 26-year-old holding firm on his believed value.

    With Bell another year older and dealing with more wear and tear next offseason, it wouldn’t make sense for Pittsburgh to up their offer. Bell could relent from his hardline stance, but being on the open market may yield him a deal that meets his demands from another team.

    Pittsburgh, at least publically, are conveying that they will try to negotiate with Bell again next year.

    “Even though we could not reach a long-term contract agreement with Le’Veon Bell, we are excited he will be with the team in 2018,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement. “We worked very hard to find common ground, but we were unable to accomplish that prior to today’s deadline. Le’Veon will play this season under the exclusive franchise tag designation.

    “After the 2018 season is completed, we again will attempt to work out a long-term contract with Le’Veon in the hope that he will continue his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

    Even if this is Bell’s final year in Pittsburgh, however, it may not be as simple as the Steelers getting everything out of him one last time before letting him walk.

    After the franchise tag deadline passed on Monday, Bell stated on Twitter that “2018 will be my best season to date”, but it’s unclear if he’ll choose to miss a second straight training camp and show up right before the season starts.

    Even more concerning for the Steelers is the prospect of Bell sitting out regular season games to minimise injury risk. Bell only has to play six games to register a season, but he would lose a significant chunk of his $14.5m every contest he sits out.

    It all depends on how much Bell values his health and mileage – he received a career-high 321 carries last year – over game checks for the coming season.

    Pittsburgh may be justified in not wanting to pay well above market value for a running back – even if Bell is the best all-around back in the league – but the bottom line is Bell now has all the leverage for how he wants to approach this year.

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