Bell done as a Steeler at end of season

[displacedinMN]

Long ass article

Spoiler!

RB Le'Veon Bell, Steelers fail to reach long-term deal ahead of deadline

The Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Le'Veon Bell failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension before Monday's 4 p.m. franchise tag deadline, and his agent says that means it is likely Bell's last season with the team.

"His intention was to retire as a Steeler," Adisa Bakari told ESPN's Adam Schefter. "But now that there's no deal, the practical reality is, this now likely will be Le'Veon's last season as a Steeler."

Bell will play on the franchise tag for the second consecutive year barring an unforeseen development.

The parties reopened negotiations last week and talked throughout Monday hoping to spark something, but there hasn't been much momentum toward a contract over the past few months.

"It became clear the Steelers wanted to pay the position, not the player," Bakari said.

The Bell negotiation was one of the most complicated in recent Steelers history because of Bell's leverage under the franchise tag, a sagging running back market and Bell's conviction to be paid as one of the game's best playmakers regardless of position. It has been more than 500 days since the Steelers first tagged Bell at $12.1 million on Feb. 27, 2017.


"It became clear the Steelers wanted to pay the position, not the player," Le'Veon Bell's agent said of the two sides failing to reach an agreement. Bell will play on the franchise tag for the second consecutive year barring an unforeseen development. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The Steelers made two sizable contract offers -- one last summer and one this winter -- beginning at around $13.3 million per year on average and working their way up slightly. Bell turned both of them down, telling ESPN in April that he wouldn't take a contract worth less than $14.5 million annually, based on the amount of his 2018 tag number. For months after that, negotiations lacked real momentum.

The Steelers felt their offers were good and didn't want to overinflate a position that hasn't landed a long-term deal worth more than $10 million per year since Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson in 2011.

With that in mind, Bell always knew he could play out two franchise tags worth a combined $26.62 million and have a chance at true free agency as a 27-year-old in 2019, setting the stage for peers Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott in future years.

The Bell saga twisted unexpectedly in January when the star back told ESPN he would consider retirement if asked to play on the tag for the second straight year, a stance he has since softened, though he had hinted at missing a second straight training camp in absence of a long-term deal.

"Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them," Bell said then. "I'm not going to settle for anything. I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I'm not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I'm not getting what I feel I'm valued at."

Bell didn't sign last season's tag until Sept. 4 and showed some rust with 3.46 yards per carry through the first three weeks. But he finished the year as an All-Pro, rushing 321 times for 1,291 yards along with 85 caches for 655 yards and 11 total touchdowns.

Bell has 7,996 total yards through 62 career regular-season games, the most of any NFL player over that span since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, outdistancing Eric Dickerson (7,842), according to ESPN Stats & Information.

After the season, general manager Kevin Colbert told Bell personally the team wanted him to retire a Steeler. Team president Art Rooney echoed the same sentiment in an end-of-year interview with local media.

Despite both sides wanting to finish a contract, Steelers players got used to life without Bell. They want him to get paid but also want him on the field with them.

"I think last year a lot of guys were like, 'Oh, Le'Veon's not here,'" said receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey during offseason workouts. "Nobody cares. We're out here and we have to get work done. ... We'll see him when we see him. Next man up."  

Added safety Morgan Burnett: "You definitely understand, because it's definitely a business. Within your career, it seems long but it's only a short period of your life. So the stuff you accomplish, the money you make within this time, you want to find a way to make it expand the rest of your life."

The Steelers report to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for training camp on July 25. Bell has used boxing and a vegan diet this offseason to stay in shape, holding off from most football exercises to keep his knees fresh.

[Skyy God]

RBs are the 3rd lowest paid position (after K and P).

Crazytown.

[Red Dawg]

Bell was offered a very good deal that paid him twice as much Freeman. He would have been way above all other RBs. If he gets injured he will lose millions. He's a dumbass that's just asking for injury.

[FloridaMan88]

Kareem Hunt is the worst thing to happen to veteran RB's such as Bell who are looking for big pay days.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Kareem Hunt is the worst thing to happen to veteran RB's such as Bell who are looking for big pay days.

It’s not just Kareem. Kamara, Zeke Elliott, David Johnson, Jordan Howard.

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Kareem Hunt is the worst thing to happen to veteran RB's such as Bell who are looking for big pay days.

This is true but it also doesn't help that teams keep getting to the SB without big money skill pllayers. High priced skill players are not needed.

[O.city]

I can't believe he turned down what he did. He's been suspended and hurt, is a RB and turned down 15 mil per?

That's nuts.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Kareem Hunt is the worst thing to happen to veteran RB's such as Bell who are looking for big pay days.

Jamaal Charles was a 3rd round pick too.

IMHO there is no reason to take a RB higher then the 3rd unless they are a sure-fire freak. Just grab a 3rd or 4th rounder every couple of years, add some undrafted FAs, and churn through them until the end of time.

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Bell was offered a very good deal that paid him twice as much Freeman. He would have been way above all other RBs. If he gets injured he will lose millions. He's a dumbass that's just asking for injury.

Bell and Freeman aren’t super analogous.

Freeman only got $22M guaranteed, while Bell was offered $30M. Which is more, but only $16M more than the tag.

I bet Bell gets more than that on the open market.

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by O.city

I can't believe he turned down what he did. He's been suspended and hurt, is a RB and turned down 15 mil per?

That's nuts.

Those are numbers for agents and dumb fans.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

Those are numbers for agents and dumb fans.

ok

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by sedated

Jamaal Charles was a 3rd round pick too.

IMHO there is no reason to take a RB higher then the 3rd unless they are a sure-fire freak. Just grab a 3rd or 4th rounder every couple of years, add some undrafted FAs, and churn through them until the end of time.

They’re ok to draft in the 1st now due to cost control from the new rookie scale.

Just don’t offer a big 2nd contract.

[BryanBusby]

Guess the extension only offered 10 mil guaranteed

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by sedated

Jamaal Charles was a 3rd round pick too.

IMHO there is no reason to take a RB higher then the 3rd unless they are a sure-fire freak. Just grab a 3rd or 4th rounder every couple of years, add some undrafted FAs, and churn through them until the end of time.

I say the same every draft. I would never take an RB in the first round.