The Pittsburgh Steelers officially applied their franchise tag to RB Le’Veon Bell for the second straight season on Tuesday, according to Albert Breer.
This is the least surprising move of the deal, as reports from yesterday said that Pittsburgh had already informed Bell that he was going to be tagged with no extension close.
Even so, the two parties plan to continue working on a long-term extension in the coming months.
The 2018 franchise tag should run Pittsburgh close to $14.5 million fully guaranteed.
Bell, 25, 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.
Bell will make around $12.3 million fully guaranteed for the 2017 season under the tag and be an unrestricted free agent again in the coming months.
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 had him featured in our Top 100 – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.
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