Subscribe
Follow Us
Last month, the Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to place the franchise tag on All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell for the second straight year. This has ensured that Bell remains under contract at least through the 2018 season.
However, there hasn't been any progress made up to this point toward hammering out a new long-term deal for the 26-year-old. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has stated that the franchise is putting contract discussion on hold for the time being to focus on other pertinent business.
#Steelers GM Kevin Colbert to @wyche89 on Le’Veon Bell: “Once you make the tag, you move onto other business that's more pertinent at this point…. Then we'll address it at the appropriate time, but our long-term goal has always to have Le'Veon be a Steeler for his career."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2018
The Steelers seemingly have every intention of making Bell a big part of their long-term future, but the team still has plenty of time to get a new contract in place with the deadline being on July 16. This has also given them the opportunity to focus on reshaping the roster through free agency such as inking safety Morgan Burnett to a three-year deal and linebacker Jon Bostic to a two-year contract.
Article Continues Below
These comments also signal that the Steelers will likely go through the entire draft process over the next month before working toward a new deal with Bell this offseason. Both sides have expressed mutual interest in working something out at some point in the coming months.
Bell's performance on the field certainly warrants his being paid as one of the top players at his position. He is coming off another highly productive campaign where he finished third in the league with 1,291 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns and a career-best 85 catches for 655 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 85 receptions are the most by a running back in a single season in team history. Meanwhile, his 1,946 total scrimmage yards were second in the NFL and the third most in a single season in franchise history.
It may just simply be a matter of time before the Steelers get their star running back under the long-term contract that he has been eyeing over last year.
