Another wrinkle was added to Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell's holdout as it was reported on Wednesday that he didn't have to play at all this season in order to possibly land a $25 million franchise tender next offseason from the team.
It now appears that this is something that Bell's agent may not have known was a possibility as former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who has the same agent as the 26-year-old, pointed out Thursday. (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk)
“So what happened was that once that came out, that they’re now digging and reading the trying to understand the language, because there’s a lot of language in the CBA, especially for this particular instance,” Jones-Drew said. “So they’re going back now to really sit down and figure out [the language].”
This is a huge game-changing wrinkle that is added to a situation that may very well lead to Bell deciding not to show up altogether. There have been various details to emerge over the last several days that began with the knowledge that the Pro Bowler didn't have to show up at all this season in order to become a free agent next March due to having accrued four-plus seasons in the league to do so.
It has clearly become an ongoing situation that has many wrinkles that have continued to be added to the mix. The one that has remained in play is that he will have to be back in the fold by next Tuesday if he wants to play this season at all. It is the one telling date that would signal what his plans are at this point.
In the meantime, it still remains a waiting period for the Steelers to see what Bell will do regarding his availability for this season.
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