Heading into Week 10 of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have remained in a holding pattern with star running back Le'Veon Bell deciding to continue to stay from the team.

However, an intriguing new detail has emerged that he doesn't have to return at all this year to become a free agent next offseason as he has already accrued four-plus seasons in the league. This has now put into question his long-term future with the franchise that if he decided to go that route, the transition tag he could receive would be higher if he didn't play at all this season, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Article 10, Section 15(a) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement provides as follows: “If any Franchise Player does not play in the NFL in a League Year, his Prior Team shall have the right to designate such player as a Franchise Player or a Transition Player the following League Year, if such designation is otherwise available to the Team, except that the applicable Tender must be made and any 120% Tender shall be measured from the Player’s Prior Year Salary.” (Emphasis added.)

In other words, if Bell doesn’t report in 2018 (and thus makes zero dollars and zero cents), the application of the transition tender would guarantee a 20-percent raise over Bell’s 2017 salary. That’s $14.54 million, the amount of Bell’s franchise tender in 2018.

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This might provide an even greater incentive for Bell to hold out for the rest of the season as he could earn more money if he held out. This would only be put into play if the Steelers had the desire to bring him back on a new deal, which is something that doesn't appear to be in their plans.

The team has had the pleasant surprise with the play of second-year running back James Conner in place of Bell out of the backfield. Conner has more than proven to be a capable asset in the offense as a legitimate dual-threat factor that has been a huge part of the offensive game plan.

Ultimately, this something that may come in play if Bell truly considers that to be a realistic option for him next offseason.