Le’Veon Bell Won’t Report To Steelers This Week, Likely To Wait Until After Trade Deadline

Update:

According to Jim Trotter and Ian Rapoport, Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell will not report to the team this week, despite prior reports that he could return for their Week 8 game.

Instead, Rapoport says that Bell will likely wait until after the trade deadline to rejoin the Steelers.

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell did not report to the team on Monday morning for the start of Week 8.

• Over the weekend, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that several Steelers’ executives believe it’s more likely that Bell wants until Week 9, which is after the trade deadline, to sign his franchise tender and return to the team.
• Jay Glazer reports that the Steelers spoke to Le’Veon Bell’s reps late Saturday night about the terms of a two-week roster exemption, which both sides will need to agree to before he rejoins the team.
• Glazer says that the Steelers, at this point in time, don’t want to pay him during exemption and Bell, obviously, wants to be paid.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II told Rapoport that he doesn’t expect to trade Bell before the upcoming trade deadline. However, La Canfora mentions that the Steelers would prefer to move him, but his “prolonged absence and actions and recent comments have not helped his trade value at all.”

Trade talks with the Eagles reportedly have not advanced in recent weeks beyond the team’s initial inquiry.

Beyond that, La Canfora says that the Steelers have concerns that Bell’s presence could be a negative for the team. Even when Bell reports to the team, La Canfora mentions that he could have a role behind James Conner for a while.

Bell, 26, is a former second-round pick of the Steelers back in 2013. He played out the final year of his four-year, $4,120,600 rookie contract that included a $1,376,800 signing bonus and was in position to be one of the best players in the free agent market when he was franchised.

The Steelers used the franchise tag on Bell again this offseason, which means he stands to make $14.5 million fully guaranteed for the 2018 season before testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent next year.

In 2017, Bell has appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and rushed for 1, 291yards on 321 carries (4 YPC) to go along with 85 receptions for 655 yards receiving and 11 total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 9 running back out of 58 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 25 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.