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Le'Veon Bell ineligible to Return in 2018 After Failing to Report to Steelers

joewilly12

By joewilly12
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joewilly12

joewilly12

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Le'Veon Bell Ineligible to Return in 2018 After Failing to Report to Steelers

JOSEPH ZUCKERNOVEMBER 13, 2018

 

 
Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Le'Veon Bell won't report to the Pittsburgh Steelers' team facilities by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As a result, Bell is ineligible to play for the remainder of the 2018 season and will miss out on $14.5 million in wages, per Schefter. 

Leading up to the pivotal day, it looked like he would opt to miss the rest of the campaign rather than signing his franchise tag tender. Schefter reported Saturday the three-time Pro Bowler was "unlikely" to show up.

Since the Steelers played Thursday night in a 52-21 win over the Carolina Panthers, NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala thought Bell's decision to stay away from the team in the days after that game was telling:

 

Kinkhabwala shared an anecdote from an exchange about Bell, "An AFC front office exec texted me this this week: 'First you pay the guy who throws, then the guy that chases the guy who throws, then the guy who catches the ball thrown best, then the guy who covers the guy catching the ball best, then the guy who blocks for the guy throwing.'"

Schefter noted Bell has already forfeited $8.5 million in potential earnings by holding out this long. The running back had so far declined to sign his one-year, $14.5 million tender in pursuit of an extension that provided long-term financial security.

Some wondered whether Bell would be content to sit out the entire season since he could achieve his aim without stepping on the field.

The Athletic's Mark Kaboly reported Bell will be considered a third-year franchise player in 2019 under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement regardless of whether he signed the Steelers' one-year tender. As a result, his salary would climb to $25 million next year under the franchise tag.

According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Bell's tactic hasn't gone unnoticed among some of his peers and their agents:

 

After sitting out so long already, Bell returning to the Steelers didn't make sense, and the decision seemed even easier based on his franchise tag status for 2019.

Bell probably wouldn't have increased his free-agent value much more over the final seven games of the 2018 regular season; he would've, however, risked seeing his future earnings shrink if he had gotten injured.

Marshawn Lynch didn't look much worse in 2017 after he enjoyed a short-lived retirement in 2016. He ran for 891 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry with the Oakland Raiders.

Lynch isn't a perfect comparison since he was 31 when he suited up for the Raiders, whereas Bell, 26, remains in the prime of his playing career. Still, it's an example of a time one running back picked up where he left off after he spent a year out of the league.

Another team can sign Bell with confidence that he's still among the NFL's best backs.

With the passage of Tuesday's deadline, his future almost certainly lies outside Pittsburgh, and the Steelers may be somewhat relieved.

Pittsburgh has seemingly moved on from Bell, as second-year running back James Conner is enjoying a breakout season. Conner has rushed for 771 yards and 10 touchdowns and has caught 39 passes for 387 yards and a touchdown.

In part because of Conner's emergence, the Steelers rank fourth in total offense (419.9 yards per game) and eighth in offensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders. They may not need Bell to challenge the New England Patriots for AFC supremacy.

Then there was the dynamic of Bell's return to a locker room full of teammates he potentially alienated by staying away. Members of the Steelers offensive line didn't have kind words regarding Bell once his holdout carried into the regular season.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said little about Bell in an interview with ESPN's Dianna Russini, which spoke volumes about the situation:

 

The Steelers are 6-2-1 and in position to win their third straight AFC North title.

Maybe it would've been as simple as putting Bell in the backfield and making an already good offense even better. But that thinking doesn't take into account Conner's development or trying to defuse any lingering tension from the holdout.

As good as Bell is, the Steelers might be better off without him.

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Untouchable

Untouchable

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4 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Guys a nutbar.  Consistently dumb decisions.

Meh

Guy is guaranteed to get a deal on the open market averaging $14-16 million a year with $30+ million guaranteed.

And hopefully it’s from us, because he’s the only offensive playmaker that we can realistically bring in after the season.

In fact, this whole offseason should revolve around landing Bell, a legit edgerusher and some OL help.

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Lith

Lith

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5 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

The running back had so far declined to sign his one-year, $14.5 million tender in pursuit of an extension that provided long-term financial security.

I don't know.  I always thought that $14.5MM would give someone long-term financial security.  Especially on top of the $16MM he has already earned.

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joewilly12

joewilly12

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Just now, Untouchable said:

Meh

Guy is guaranteed to get a deal on the open market averaging $14-16 million a year with $30+ million guaranteed.

And hopefully it’s from us, because he’s the only offensive playmaker that we can realistically bring in this offseason.

This whole offseason should revolve around landing Bell, a legit edgerusher and some OL help.

Don't forget a #1 WR and some WR depth. 

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joewilly12

joewilly12

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2 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

I don’t think they can land a true #1 WR this offseason. But I wouldn’t mind pairing a guy like Tyrell Williams with Anderson on the outside, re-signing Enunwa and drafting a wideout in the 3rd/4th round.

No way in heck should the NY Jets long term plan with Robbie Anderson time to move on and bring in decent WR's, where has Robbie been all season. 

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Patriot Killa

Patriot Killa

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Some of you are coming at the guy sideways for no reason! Go get that money you deserve brother! He earned his paycheck and it’s not his fault that teams do not want to pay running backs anymore. 

Stand up for what you believe in. He’s gonna get his check. This ain’t charity work. He ain’t doing this for free. He’s still running off a rookie contract and they disrespected him with their last offer. He carved himself into the top 2 running backs in the league. Now he could of went out there and hurt himself trying to get a contract for another team(because Pitt was never signing him back for what he wanted.) just like Earl Thomas did. Poor guy broke his leg trying to show up and play in the midst of trade rumors and an upcoming payday and now Thomas won’t get crap from anyone!

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Beerfish

Beerfish

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So now in any of his future deals you have to factor in the 14.5 million he lost by sitting out.  If he plays 7 more years which is very optimistic for a RB you have to deduct 2 million a year from whatever he earns.  He will never get that money back and if anything the fact that Connor steps in and they do not miss a beat should hurt his value.

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thshadow

thshadow

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17 minutes ago, Lith said:

I don't know.  I always thought that $14.5MM would give someone long-term financial security.  Especially on top of the $16MM he has already earned.

But he's instead going to get, whatever, $30MM guaranteed, plus he'll be able to choose his team / city.

Strictly from a business point of view, this makes total sense AFAICT.

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JoJoTownsell1

JoJoTownsell1

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12 minutes ago, Thai Jet said:

From everything I've read the last month this was a smart move on his part. He's taken control back from the Steelers. Still losing $14+ mil is a ton ! 

It was a dumb move for so many reasons. 

Look at Trumaine Johnson. He got 13 million and 16 million playing under franchise tag. Then got a huge deal from the Jets. If he had sat out 2017, he wouldn't have gotten a better deal from the Jets this past offseason.

Granted, RBs get wear and tear from getting too many carries, but I highly doubt a team will pay him 14 million more over the course of a contract to make up for the lost year. If anything, some teams may be scared to give him a deal knowing that he is capable of sitting out when he doesn't get what he wants.  

And if you are a GM and watch James Conner step in and play just as good as Bell, don't you question how valuable Bell truly is? If you look back and remember, Deangelo Williams also looked great replacing Bell when he was suspended. 

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thshadow

thshadow

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7 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

So now in any of his future deals you have to factor in the 14.5 million he lost by sitting out.  If he plays 7 more years which is very optimistic for a RB you have to deduct 2 million a year from whatever he earns.  He will never get that money back and if anything the fact that Connor steps in and they do not miss a beat should hurt his value.

Not sure how you figure.  More realistically, he has a fixed number of years left.  Sitting out a year is likely to extend his career by a year.  So he's much more likely to get more money in total, not less.

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JoJoTownsell1

JoJoTownsell1

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14 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Some of you are coming at the guy sideways for no reason! Go get that money you deserve brother! He earned his paycheck and it’s not his fault that teams do not want to pay running backs anymore. 

Stand up for what you believe in. He’s gonna get his check. This ain’t charity work. He ain’t doing this for free. He’s still running off a rookie contract and they disrespected him with their last offer. He carved himself into the top 2 running backs in the league. Now he could of went out there and hurt himself trying to get a contract for another team(because Pitt was never signing him back for what he wanted.) just like Earl Thomas did. Poor guy broke his leg trying to show up and play in the midst of trade rumors and an upcoming payday and now Thomas won’t get crap from anyone!

LMAO. 

Dude, he broke his leg. He will be fine in time for camp. You are acting like he blew out his Achilles, tore his ACL all while getting his 6th concussion of the season. 

Thomas got paid this year and will get a big contract in free agency. Bell just pissed away 14 million with no guarantee he will get a bigger contract next year if he had played the whole season. Meanwhile James Conner is making Bell look like a product of  the system. 

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Patriot Killa

Patriot Killa

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8 minutes ago, TheGreenGhost said:

I get your point, but that's a bad comparison IMO.  I would sign Earl Thomas today if that was an option.

It’s not a bad comparison. Earl Thomas was set to have his last big payday and decided to play even though there were rumors swirling that Seahawks were entertaining offers. 

He broke his leg and now he won’t see anything close to what he would of seen would the injury have never occurred.

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Patriot Killa

Patriot Killa

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3 minutes ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

LMAO. 

Dude, he broke his leg. He will be fine in time for camp. You are acting like he blew out his Achilles, tore his ACL all while getting his 6th concussion of the season. 

Thomas got paid this year and will get a big contract in free agency. Bell just pissed away 14 million with no guarantee he will get a bigger contract next year if he had played the whole season. Meanwhile James Conner is making Bell look like a product of  the system. 

He’s not getting what he would of gotten and that’s the whole point of the example. Don’t be naive. You and I both know that teams aren’t paying what they would of paid for a player that has had a major injury no matter WHAT the healing probability is.(btw, he’s now in his 30’s and yes that matters)

Watering down the impact of a broken leg and comparing it to a torn achilles serves for a weak angle to argue from. 

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Lith

Lith

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7 minutes ago, thshadow said:

But he's instead going to get, whatever, $30MM guaranteed, plus he'll be able to choose his team / city.

Strictly from a business point of view, this makes total sense AFAICT.

I don't disagree with that.  Just tired of hearing that it is about his financial security.  Same thing was said last night on MNF -- it is about guaranteeing his financial secuirty.  He is financially secure whetehr he makes $14MM for one season or a multi-year $50MM contract.  He already knows a level of financial security that most of us will never know.

If it is about getting fair market value for his services, considering the Gurley contract, I could buy that explanation.

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Patriot Killa

Patriot Killa

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2 minutes ago, Lith said:

I don't disagree with that.  Just tired of hearing that it is about his financial security.  Same thing was said last night on MNF -- it is about guaranteeing his financial secuirty.  He is financially secure whetehr he makes $14MM for one season or a multi-year $50MM contract.  He already knows a level of financial security that most of us will never know.

If it is about getting fair market value for his services, considering the Gurley contract, I could buy that explanation.

That’s exactly what this is Lith! He deserves it. Guy has been running the hell outta the rock. Getting hurt and getting less money is not acceptable.

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