The Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell are currently locked in negotiations for a long-term contract. Bell recently admitted that those talks are much closer this time around than they were last year, which should be a promising sign for Steelers fans.

If that is indeed true, then Bell and the Steelers still have a lot of time to beat the team’s self-imposed deadline of Feb. 20 to get a deal done.

Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler:

Le’Veon Bell told ESPN that Steelers have set an artificial deadline of Feb. 20 – first day of franchise tagging – to get deal done. Both sides want to beat the clock. “That is definitely the goal,” he said.

Bell clarified that they can still hold talks after that deadline date, but both parties would likely prefer to come to some sort of agreement before then.

Bell is coming off yet another stellar season as a yards-from-scrimmage machine with the Steelers. He had 1,291 rushing yards and had a career-high nine rushing touchdowns. He also added 655 receiving yards on 85 receptions, which is another new career-high.

The leverage in negotiations should squarely be on Bell’s side since Pittsburgh would be hard-pressed to lose such a talented and productive player in the prime of his career. While he says the goal would be to get a deal done by the deadline, it would be a surprise if he accepts any sort of discount.

With that being the case, it’s well within the realm of possibility that these negotiations spill well past the Feb. 20 deadline.