Le’Veon Bell‘s agent Adisa Bakari tells Adam Schefter that while his client planned to play his entire career in Pittsburgh, it’s now clear that he will likely move on next year.
“His intention was to retire as a Steeler,” Bakari said. “But now that there’s no deal, the practical reality is, this now likely will Le’Veon’s last season as a Steeler.
“It became clear the Steelers wanted to pay the position, not the player.”
The deadline passed Monday without the Steelers and Bell reaching a long-term agreement and it’s highly unlikely the Steelers would use a third tag on Bell next year.
Earlier in the day, Adam Schefter of ESPN mentioned during an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio that he thinks it’s a possibility that Bell could sit out the first half of the 2018 season if they can’t get a long-term deal done before today’s deadline.
“I think it’s possible Le’Veon Bell sits out the first half of the year if he doesn’t get a long-term deal done,” Schefter said, per Ross Tucker.
Schefter added that Bell is focused on reaching free agency in 2019, as opposed to handling another large workload.
“The goal at that point would be to hit 2019 free agency healthy, not rack up another 400 touches,” Schefter said.
In order for Bell to get an accrued season, he would still have to return to the Steelers for the second half of the season. This is still surprising to hear, given that so few players have held out in recent years.
Bell turned down a five-year contract worth $60 million last year. If Bell is able to put together another strong season, Pelissero says he could use the franchise tag to his advantage in 2019 much like Kirk Cousins did before cashing in on a fully guaranteed deal with the Vikings.
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 has 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.
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