Le’Veon Bell will officially miss Week 1. While there is no end in sight to the saga between Bell and the Steelers, it’s always been assumed there’s nothing really to negotiate. Since the deadline passed for the Steelers to give Bell an extension, it’s been suggested that there’s no financial incentive for Bell to hold out, and that he’s merely preserving his body for 2019 free agency.
That’s apparently not entirely true, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk points out the Steelers actually can sweeten Bell’s deal. The deadline that passed was only for multi-year deals, and Pittsburgh could give him as much extra money for this season as they wanted. That seems unlikely, as the relationship has soured quite a bit in recent weeks, but is still notable.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- Speaking of Bell, a trade is another possibility if James Conner fills in admirably and the team decides they don’t want to deal with the headache anymore. But despite their shaky running back situation, don’t expect the Jets to trade for Bell writes Rich Cimini of ESPN. Cimini notes that the Jets aren’t in win-now mode right now and it wouldn’t make much sense for them to give up assets for Bell, although New York could be a landing spot for Bell in 2019.
- More news from the Jets, receiver Jermaine Kearse underwent surgery for an abdomen injury, and will miss the team’s opener against the Lions according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets will be leaning heavily on the trio of Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa and Terrelle Pryor with little experience behind them other than Kearse.
- In case you missed it, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie spoke on the Khalil Mack trade and other topics.
Trade him to the colts and get some of the jets draft picks!
dear jets: how the forte signing work out for ya?
It was ok
Bell should tell the Steelers he won’t sign w/ any team if traded. Tell them he wants to be a FA and test all the markets; not 1 or 2.
Even as a free agent Bell will find that there are only 3 or 4 teams that are desperate enough at RB and have the cap space to meet his demands. There is no guarantee that any of them will be playoff contenders.
I agree with you, but if he plans on holding his ground; then he should hold it. He should dictate with whom he speaks with, not Pit.