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Despite their best efforts, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell appear unlikely to come to terms on a new long-term contract by March 6, which is the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag on a player. As a result, the Steelers will likely tag their star running back for a second year in a row, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.
Despite some early optimism at getting a long-term deal done before the deadline, the #Steelers are expected to franchise tag RB Le’Veon Bell before the Tuesday deadline, barring a dramatic turn in talks. Both sides will keep working on a deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2018
Both sides had sounded optimistic at various times during the offseason that they could finally be able to get a deal done this time around. They had even discussed an artificial deadline of Feb. 20 – the start of the two-week window where teams could place the franchise tag on players – to get a deal done. But unless a dramatic turn in the talks takes place, one does not seem to be forthcoming before the end of that window.
Tagging Bell would give the two parties until July 16 to continue working on a long-term deal. If they are still unable to get anything done, Bell would play under the one-year deal again.
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The decision to tag Bell for a second-straight year would cost the Steelers around $14.5 million. However, it remains to be seen when or even if Bell decides to sign the tag. He has already voiced his strong reluctance to sign a second franchise tag in the past. He also sat out offseason workouts last year before he eventually signed.
But despite Bell’s delay in signing the tag last season which cost him valuable offseason preparation, he still delivered one of the best seasons in his career. He ran for 1,291 yards (third in the NFL) with nine touchdowns, and also added 85 catches (second on the Steelers) for 655 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Bell is undoubtedly one of the best running backs in the NFL, and the Steelers likely want to keep him around. However, the clock continues to tick in terms of getting the long-term deal Bell so desires.
