Bell a no show at camp and has not signed tender

He is still rehabbing isn't he? This is slow media day and making noise. If he says he is holding out then I'd worry.

 

Saw a couple of speculations that said he hadn't signed because it is the only leverage he has during negotiations. If that is the reason it is a dumb one. Sign the tender, and trust the team to take care of you.

 

I am not surprised personally.


This inevitable situation was likely since 2015 to begin with. Le'Veon Bell has himself and only himself to blame. Repeated suspensions give Pittsburgh a hefty amount of leverage. A shaky injury history and the position itself being so prone to longevity is icing on the cake



Something tells me there was more to James Conner than just the "Plan B" narrative here. Not saying he will immediately start over Bell but too many pieces are beginning to add up indeed.

 

Do you suspect a Sammie Coates/something's up with Bryant-esque pick?

 

With JuJu? No.


He is needed for offensive red zone production. Initially though, Sammie Coates was the "Plan B" for Martavis Bryant. Now that Sammie's fingers are still not healed in addition to having Martavis back, I believe Sammie's value has been lowered.

 

Oh... then yes to that as well.


Really though, this does feel is circa 2015 for me.

 

He hasn't signed his tender because he doesn't have to. No more no less.

Similar conversation happened last year with AB.

Much ado about nothing.

 

They said on NFL channel that no bad blood is going on with Bell or the team so I am ok with it

 

All the more reason I did have suspicion about the James Conner pick.


Not that what is going on with Le'Veon is that big a secret but James seems to be more than just a "Plan B".


Screams circa 2015 with the Coates pick for me.

 

I agree. The funny thing is, this MAY be the only "leverage" he has. If he is willing to bet on his health, (we all know is major risk): He gets $12.3M (I believe) this year and IF he were to get tagged a second year he'd get 120% of that ($14.76M). So IF he stays healthy and gets tagged 2 years in a row, his "guaranteed" salary would be $27M. That's probably the number he's looking at, or close to it, when it comes to the guaranteed money in his "long term" deal negotiation with the Steelers.

 

Has anybody read any contract numbers offered/speculated?

 

Only the ones in Bell's rapping so far...

 

better sign it. this is the biggest pay day i would give any rb.

 

Very doubtful the team has made any offers in negotiation, I expect they want to see if he can stay on the field for 16 games before they commit to a long term contract. Bell may think by holding out he can force them to negotiate but we know the team wont negotiate with a hold out.......Franchise tagging is very unpopular among players league wide, they feel it prevents them from getting the long term market value they deserve....

 

Personally, I see little chance of Bell having a new contract this year. That is in keeping with how early the team stated they would tag him. If he has a good season all around this year, they will tag him again next year and then try to work out a contract.

 

does his contract or no contract coincide with bens years left? maybe two franchise years left for bell and two total for ben? we free up a lot of money, get them both for two more years and a run and then make a move on an established qb? we get to see what conner can do in the mean time and use bell up for two more years. we also get to see what martavis does and decide if he will be in the plans for a contract. in two more years that puts bell going into his 7th season, which is getting past a RB's prime in this league. at least on the backside of it for most rb's.

we would also be towards the end of heywards and a few others. just some food for thought.

 

Just remember if they tag him next year he gets a 20% raise over this years tag which will pay him 26 million for two years...........

 

Understood. I don't see him signing for less and until he stays clean, I don't see them giving him a pile up front.

Just a thought.

 

I know bell is the shizz... When he's available, but he ain't worth what his peanut sized brain is telling him he is. It's a contradiction with him for sure. I don't think a running back should should be tallying 50% of your O's passing stats. Based off of his injury history be it freak accident or ran down which none of us know... Simple logic would be that he needs a lot more of a breather than he gets. I think Pitts overuse of him takes away his actual threat honestly in a couple of ways. A) the team is overly reliant on him and b) he gets worn down too quick throughout the season. He needs to be used aa a decoy more with the threat and he needs his touches to go down albeit in a productive manner.

Hope he signs his paper and kicks azz... But I wouldn't bet the farm on him long term wise the history is just too shaky in my opinion and they have other needs to feed payroll wise

 

i do think juju and hunter spell some plan B thoughts. especially for sammie. with the way we have used bell as a wr at times, AB, bryant, juju, hunter, eli could be all we need. bell taking over some of these snaps as well. i just don't see the need for many more past 5 wr's needed. any that have PS eligibility would be kept around for emergency. (ayers)( hamilton??). DHB and sammie could be in trouble of making this team and especially if we keep extra players at another position. (TE,RB,CB,S).

 

I believe, I am not certain Shady McCoy is currently the highest paid RB @8milion/year. So lets
try 10 million/yr for 4 years with large signing bonus. WITH STIPULATIONS to cover the Steelers.