BELL STAYED AWAY AFTER ASKING STEELERS TO NOT TAG HIM

Le'Veon Bell was considering returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers before last Tuesday's deadline. But, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he decided to stay away after the Steelers denied the following request. 

The Steelers were told that if they were willing to not use their franchise or transition tag on Bell after this season, he would consider reporting to the team, according to sources," Schefter reported. "But the Steelers declined Bell's request because they felt the tag was too important to forgo.

On Sunday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that, this offseason, Bell will seek a longterm offer that will pay him $17 million a season. He will also want $45 million guaranteed, the same amount of guaranteed money Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley received when he signed his four-year, $60 million deal this past summer. The Steelers reportedly offered Bell a five-year, $70 million deal this past offseason that included $17 million and $45 million in the first three years of the deal.

Bell was drafted by his favorite team in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft after a successful collegiate career at the University Of Michigan State. During his rookie season, Bell helped get Pittsburgh out of an 0-4 hole to start the season after rushing for 860 yards and eight scores and catching 45 passes for 399 yards for the Steelers, who finished the season with an 8-8 record. The following season, Bell, who lost a considerable amount of weight during that offseason, amassed a career high 2,215 all-purpose yards while earning All-Pro honors for the first time in his career. While he helped the Steelers win the AFC North division that season, Bell missed Pittsburgh's wild card playoff loss to the Ravens after sustaining a knee injury in Pittsburgh's Week 17 victory over the Bengals. 

In 2015, Bell led the NFL in rushing before sustaining a season ending MCL injury in Pittsburgh's Week 8 loss to Cincinnati. Without Bell, the Steelers received solid play from veteran running back DeAngelo Williams, who tied for the NFL lead that year with 11 rushing touchdowns while helping Pittsburgh quality for the postseason for a second consecutive year. Like Bell in 2014, Williams also sustained a knee injury in Week 17 against the Browns that forced him to miss Pittsburgh's playoff games against the Bengals and Broncos. 

Williams led the NFL in rushing during the first two games of the 2016 season before Bell returned from suspension. After missing nearly en entire calendar year, Bell proved that he was still one of the league's best backs, amassing 1,884 all-purpose yards that season while winning the Steelers' team MVP award. Bell's sensational regular season included rushing for a franchise single game record 236 yards in a road victor over Buffalo. In the playoffs, Bell set the team's franchise postseason single rushing record in consecutive weeks, rushing for 167 yards and two scores against the Dolphins and 170 yards at Kansas City. In the AFC title game, a groin injury limited Bell to just 20 yards on six carries as he spent most of Pittsburgh's 36-17 loss on the sideline. 

In 2017, Bell, despite holding out during training camp and the preseason, earned All-Pro honors for the second time in his career after amassing 1,944 all-purpose yards in 15 regular season games. He amassed 125 all-purpose yards and two scores in Pittsburgh's playoff loss to Jacksonville that will most likely go down as his final game with the black and gold. 

Bell finishes his Steelers career No. 4 all-time in career rushing yards, 42 yards behind Willie Parker on the all-time list. Bell is tied for third with Kordell Stewart with 35 career rushing touchdowns. He's eighth all-time with 312 career receptions, six more than Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. James Conner will continue to be the team's starting running back. Pittsburgh's third round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Conner has five 100-yard rushing performances this season that included a career high 146 yards in Pittsburgh's Week 8 victory over the Cleveland Browns.