The Pittsburgh Steelers have been caught up in an ongoing contract stalemate involving star running back Le'Veon Bell's future with the franchise. There remains little clarity about whether a new extension will be reached by the July 16 deadline.
Despite that, head coach Mike Tomlin has voiced much optimism about Bell's future in the Steel City, according to Bryan Deardo of 247 Sports.
“We’re looking forward to a big season with Le’Veon,” said Tomlin, who has coached Bell since the 2013 season. “The negotiation process is running its course. It’s not negotiated every day, and I think that’s probably a point that needs to be made. We’re comfortable with getting back together. I think all sides have agreed that at some point in the summer that there will be a reconnection and a continuation with talks. Le'Veon's been a good player for us. I think he’s expressed a desire to be with us longterm. We’ve expressed a desire to sign him. So now it’s just the business end of it.
This extended time off until the start of training camp should give each side the opportunity to discuss an extension to a further extent. There is a strong desire from Bell to remain with the Steelers for the long haul, it's just a matter of him getting a deal that he believes rewards him adequately for his abilities and production over the course of his relatively young career.
Bell has developed into arguably the best all-around running back in the league and coming off yet another highly productive campaign where he finished third in the league with 1,291 rushing yards while leading all players at his position with 85 receptions for 655 receiving yards. The 26-year-old is a huge part of the puzzle offensively for the Steelers as one of the key cogs to their game plan.
Ultimately, these next few weeks will be extremely telling of where things lie with Bell's long-term future in Pittsburgh beyond 2018.
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