The months-long saga surrounding whether or not Le'Veon Bell would
play for the Pittsburgh
Steelers this season was definitively determined Tuesday. As far as
I’m concern don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out
As anticipated, Bell did not sign his Steelers franchise
tender by Tuesday's deadline as stipulated under the collective bargaining
agreement, meaning the prolific running back is no longer eligible to play this
season. With Bell foregoing the $14.45 million he was slated to make under the
tag, it's unlikely the running back will ever play a down again with the Steelers.
Steelers general
manager Kevin Colbert issued the following statement after the deadline:
"I want to confirm that Le'Veon Bell did
not sign his franchise tender today and, as a result, he will not be eligible
to play football during the 2018 season."
While Steelers owner
Art Rooney II expressed
hope that Bell would sign his franchise tender before the
deadline and join them for their late-season push, it became clear over the
past week that the former second-round pick had no strong long-term incentive
to sign the tender since it wouldn't have an overly adverse effect on his free
agency prospects.
"I understand that business is an element of the game
of football," Mike Tomlin said Tuesday ahead of the 4 p.m. ET
deadline. "And the elements of the game, relationships within the game,
football-related relationships that we all hold near and dear and understand.
And then, football at this level, there's also a business element. Even when we
don't understand it, we're sensitive to it. So we're not shocked when things
happen from a business standpoint."
As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Aditi Kinkhabwala
reported last week, with the NFL management council and the NFL Players
Association agreeing the Steelers couldn't
utilize the franchise tag's second-year terms for Bell in 2019, it's almost
certain the Steelers will
not tag him a third straight year. That's because the third-year franchise
tag would pay out
the quarterback salary number, and it's highly unlikely the Steelers will
pay Bell more than $20 million for one year.
"Man, I hadn't thought about that one iota,"
Tomlin said when asked if he's considered that Bell has played his final downs
for Pittsburgh. "Again, like I said repeatedly and I mean I'm focused on
the guys that are here, man. We got enough challenges that are significant in
terms of meeting the things that we need to meet this week in terms of getting
the win."
The Steelers have
two other options -- let Bell walk into free agency when the new league year
begins in March or place him under the transition tag. The transition tag is a
one-year tender that would allow Bell to negotiate contract offers from other
teams. The Steelers would
have the right to match any offer sheet Bell signs from another team under the
transition tag but would receive no compensation if they don't. There is a
potential dispute looming with the NFLPA over what the transition tag number
should be for Bell, Pelissero reported.
Bell said last month he believed the Steelers would
ultimately place the transition tag on him.
While Bell's self-imposed exile looked to be setting up
the Steelers for
failure, especially after the team's worrisome start, James Conner's
emergence as a potent dual-threat back has helped cover up Bell's absence.
Conner has rushed for 771 yards and 10 touchdowns in addition to tallying 387
receiving yards and a TD for a Steelers team
that has won five straight.
Conner suffered a concussion in Thursday's blowout victory
over the Carolina
Panthers, but the Steelers are
optimistic he'll clear
protocol before Sunday's game against the Jacksonville
Jaguars.
As for Bell, he'll be limited to cheering on his teammates
from afar as he waits for the next important date in his quest to find
contractual bliss. The Steelers can
place him on the transition tag starting Feb. 19.
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