It appears the Pittsburgh Steelers could be shopping star running back Le’Veon Bell.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the club is listening to trade offers for the 26-year-old.
Following his refusal to report to Steelers training camp last month after the two sides failed to agree on a long-term deal, Bell’s holdout continued into the season. He missed Pittsburgh’s first two games of the year — a surprising Week 1 tie against the Cleveland Browns, followed by a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 — and his continued absence this weekend means he won’t be in the lineup for Monday night’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his place will be second-year running back James Conner, who has played well in his first two career starts (39 carries, 152 yards, three TDs).
Bell held out of last year’s training camp, too, but reported to the team ahead of their Week 1 matchup to play under the franchise tag. He put together another dominant campaign which saw him carry the ball a league-leading 321 times for 1,291 rushing yards and a career-high nine rushing touchdowns, plus 85 receptions for 655 receiving yards and two more TDs.
His refusal to play, combined with his pricey franchise tag, limits the number of teams that could be calling about his services this season, making for what should be an increasingly intriguing time in Steelers country.
Should Bell report to the Steelers, he’d be playing under the franchise tag, which is worth $14.5 million (pro-rated to factor in his game absences) for the year. Each game missed costs the player $853,000.
By placing the franchise tag on a player, he gets a big paycheque but no job security beyond the year — something that’s becoming an increasingly big issue among running backs. While Bell’s performance over the past five seasons warrants a heavy paycheque in the realm of what a star wide receiver can earn, running backs rarely get long-term contracts due to to the risk that comes with the wear-and-tear of the position which often leads to running backs having shorter careers than many of their offensive peers.
Bell has said in the past he wants to be a Steeler for life, and even hinted that he’d consider retiring rather than playing under the franchise tag again.
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