Why would anybody want a guy who is obviously going to lay down for the rest of the season? Who would ever trust him again?
Steelers won't rescind Bell's franchise tag, trade still possible
Oct
6
10/6/2018 3:19:17 PM
|More
With disgruntled running back Le'Veon Bell reportedly planning to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers in less than two weeks, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.com that the team does not plan to rescind the franchise tag but could still trade him before the deadline.
If Bell does in fact report during the Week 7 bye, the Steelers would have until the Tuesday after Week 8 (October 30) to trade him if they decide that is the best course of action. The compensation they would get for what boils down to a partial-season rental of Bell dwindles with each passing week but might still be better than the 2020 compensatory pick they would receive if Bell walks away in free agency next spring. A third possibility would be slapping the franchise tag on Bell for a third consecutive year. Even though that tag would cost at least $25 million and would only give the Steelers a right to match any offer sheet signed under the transition tender and no compensation, the team could match the offer and then promptly trade Bell to the team that signed him to the offer sheet.
In any of these scenarios, it seems clear that the marriage between Bell and the Steelers is going to end-only the details of when and how are yet to be determined. With the team's season currently sputtering and the Steelers threatening to fall even further behind the Bengals and the Ravens in the AFC North, the Steelers may just opt to run Bell into the ground after the bye week and say adios after the season. But the team seems ambivalent about bringing Bell back into an already chaotic locker room and just may decide to make Bell someone else's problem for the duration of 2018.
Steelers won't rescind Bell's franchise tag, trade still possible
Oct
6
10/6/2018 3:19:17 PM
|More
With disgruntled running back Le'Veon Bell reportedly planning to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers in less than two weeks, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.com that the team does not plan to rescind the franchise tag but could still trade him before the deadline.
If Bell does in fact report during the Week 7 bye, the Steelers would have until the Tuesday after Week 8 (October 30) to trade him if they decide that is the best course of action. The compensation they would get for what boils down to a partial-season rental of Bell dwindles with each passing week but might still be better than the 2020 compensatory pick they would receive if Bell walks away in free agency next spring. A third possibility would be slapping the franchise tag on Bell for a third consecutive year. Even though that tag would cost at least $25 million and would only give the Steelers a right to match any offer sheet signed under the transition tender and no compensation, the team could match the offer and then promptly trade Bell to the team that signed him to the offer sheet.
In any of these scenarios, it seems clear that the marriage between Bell and the Steelers is going to end-only the details of when and how are yet to be determined. With the team's season currently sputtering and the Steelers threatening to fall even further behind the Bengals and the Ravens in the AFC North, the Steelers may just opt to run Bell into the ground after the bye week and say adios after the season. But the team seems ambivalent about bringing Bell back into an already chaotic locker room and just may decide to make Bell someone else's problem for the duration of 2018.
Comment