The Pittsburgh Steelers have used the franchise tag on star running back Le’Veon Bell for a second-straight year. Bell didn’t take too kindly to getting tagged last season as he basically skipped all team offseason workouts including training camp before finally singing his franchise tender a week before the start of the season.
Bell has made it clear that he does not intend to sit out any actual regular-season games and will be ready for action in Week 1. However, he does plan to follow last offseason's playbook by sitting out camp unless he gets the security of the long-term contract he so desperately wants.
“Honestly, no, I’m not going to sit out,” Bell said per Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I’m going to be in the facility Week 1. It’s going to be a rerun of last year. I’m not going to camp. I’m not doing nothing else extra, OTAs, none of that.
“I’m going to strictly go to what I have to go to. I want to win every game. I want to have the best statistical career that I [possibly] can, so I want to play in every game that I can possibly play.”
The Steelers have until July 16 to work out a long-term deal with Bell. If not, he will play next season under the one-year, $14.5 million deal.
The decision to skip training camp last season certainly didn’t affect Bell’s actual performance on the field. He still had one of the best seasons of his career as he had 1,291 rushing yards with nine rushing touchdowns, as well as 85 catches for 655 receiving yards and two receiving scores. He was named to his second-straight Pro Bowl team and was also First-Team All-Pro selection for the first time since 2014.
However, the Steelers would still prefer one of their top stars to be preparing for the season alongside the rest of the team. But in order for that to happen, they know what they must do and finally get a deal done with Bell. Based on how the talks have gone since last season, though, it's certainly not a guarantee that deal's coming.
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