There was a lot of confusion surrounding Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers last season. It was widely reported during the early part of the season that Bell planned on playing for the Steelers in 2018. The timeline varied but it was consistently reported that Bell planned on showing up sometime after Pittsburgh’s Week 7 bye week. Then he never did, and we never knew what happened, until now. Bell had previously thought he needed to play six games to earn an accrued season and avoid his franchise tag from tolling over to 2019, but then realized that wasn’t the case, he explained in a recent interview with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
Bell had “absolutely intended” to report after Week 7, “but shortly before then, Bell learned that he didn’t need to play any games to hit free agency. Before then, he thought he needed to play six games for an accrued season, but turns out he was free as long as the Steelers didn’t tag him again,” Fowler writes. Bell apparently learned on social media that he wouldn’t have to play, and took the plan to his agent. Bell also revealed that he came close to returning once more, in Week 11.
“‘I was so close to doing it,’ he said. ‘At the same time, I was so torn. Do I go through that? Will they embrace me or will they not? I eventually decided I sat out 10 games, I can sit six more. At the time, the team was malfunctioning, having problems, a lot of blame on me. I didn’t want to come back and not feel welcome,'” Bell said. It won’t change anything, but it’s nice to finally have some clarity on what went down with Bell and the Steelers as he prepares for his new life with the Jets.
Here’s more from around the league as the free agency frenzy is finally starting to quiet down:
- Ryan Tannehill is no longer a Dolphin, after he was traded yesterday to the Titans. But he’s leaving behind a significant impact, as Tannehill will leave the Dolphins with $18.423MM in dead cap, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. As Florio points out, it only would’ve been $13.423MM in dead cap had they designated him a post-June 1 cut and released him outright. Essentially the Dolphins ate an additional $5MM in dead cap to get back a fourth and seventh round pick, the compensation they got from the Titans in the trade. They also gave up a sixth round pick of their own.
- Panthers offensive lineman Taylor Hearn was caught on camera getting into a fight outside of a bar and getting knocked out, according to TMZ Sports. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Charlotte Observer tweeted out the Panthers’ statement on the incident, which reads “we are aware of the video, and have been in contact with Taylor and the league about the incident. We will have no further comment at this time.” Hearn, a rookie undrafted free agent from Clemson, appeared in just four games for the Panthers this past season. Already a bottom of the roster type player, this could effect his status with the team.
- Our friends over at Overthecap.com are out with a great new page to track free agency spending this offseason, keeping track of each team’s signings, how much money they’ve doled out, and how much in guarantees they’ve pledged. So far the Jets have guaranteed by far the most money, as they’re on the hook for at least $115.5MM with the contracts they’ve signed so far. The Lions, Raiders, 49ers, and Bills round out the top five in terms of new money guaranteed. In terms of total spending, including non-guaranteed money, the Packers have been the biggest spenders, dishing out contracts worth a total of $184.1MM.
Dolphins need a QB for this season why not trade for Brissett? Colts want a 2nd but a 3rd and 5th might be able to do it. Brissett already knows Flo and O’Shea from his time in NE and makes more sense than trading for Rosen.
Colts are still being cautious when it comes to Luck’s health. Brissett is their insurance.
You’re telling me that the dolphins should give a 3rd and 5th round pick(AKA the same exact deal for Antonio Brown)(AKA the best WR in the NFL) For Jacoby Brissett!
Glad you understand the differences in a WR and a QB.
How did an NFL lineman get knocked out at a bar? I’d cut him for that
He seemed pretty wasted and good lord were his punches slow and he also was fighting two guys at once but when he got dropped only one guy was focused on him.
I was thinking the same thing
Omg….let the Bell and Brown stuff go….Jesus
Yeah I agree enough already. He made a business decision that blew up in his face and AB’s business decision didn’t. Time to move on.
I will never understand how people think more guaranteed money means he missed out.
In his first time actually speaking to the media since his holdout he explains in detail why he didn’t take the deal with the Steelers. The guaranteed money. The supposed 45 million not totally guaranteed didn’t mean squat to him, especially when they could’ve cut him after the first year.
Because people forget about the “guaranteed for injury only” part. Most of the time that guarantee is lumped together with what is actually guaranteed during negotiations/when the terms of the deal is first leaked and doesn’t get reported until the contract is finalized. Dee Ford’s contract is a perfect example, but most people will only see the lump potential guarantee instead of the fact that only his first year is really guaranteed.
Thank you! Someone who knows the difference, unlike other people who only want to use the numbers that fit their narrative.
ill never understand why a millionaire needs more. when most of us wont make one mill in our life .. so how did bell mess up ???
Lol so you mean to tell me you tell your company “no thanks” when they offer you a raise.
if i dont wanna be there f### right
yep .. if i dont wanna be there… so if the florida gator said you gotta stay. you would.. fsu bama georgia lus . kicks em to curve
That’s because the rest of us tolerate being exploited. There is a reason one percent of American hold about half of the nation’s wealth.
I will never understand how people think the Steelers wouldn’t have honored the contract in full or the bite state income tax is gonna take out of Bell’s money.
Oh it blew up big time! Lost millions he can never get back. He gets cut after year 3 & then it looks even worse. Bad advice by his agent & worse decision by him. However, he still gets paid guaranteed millions & if he keeps his money, it will not matter.
How in the world does an NFL agent not know the service time requirements for free agency? I’m calling BS on this. Bell knew exactly what he was doing as did his agent. You also can’t convince me the player’s association hadn’t briefed Bell on service time/free agency. Do these players and agents really think the public is this ignorant?
I have to second the fact that it’d be awful bad if his agent didn’t know the service time requirements. Could you imagine? “Oh I hired my agent here to help me through my sit out and free agency but thanks for telling me how service time really works Twitter”. I can’t imagine someone on social media was the one who straightened that all out for him. Or if they did, he needs to fire his agent immediately.
What they’re reporting as “facts” now, sound like Bell’s hindsight version in order to somehow save face from a very stupid choice on his part.
Rich people’s choices. You jealous?
How is Bell rich if he blows all his money on weed?
I know I’m in the minority in this thought process, but Miami should have kept Tannehill for another season while drafting a QB they like or bringing in competition for him. I don’t mean players like Moore and Osweiler as competition but Bridgewater, Bortles, or Keenum would have given him the most competition he has had since he was drafted. All this talk that he is injury prone I don’t get. The guy was an Ironman until he tore his ACL and should have had surgery instead the doctors said rest and rehab would be enough. He tore the same ACL the very next preseason which prompted surgery. This past season is the only the 2nd injury he has had and it was due to an O-Line that forgot what their job was. Tannehill was never given a chance to succeed in Miami. They never had an O-Line that could consistently hold the rush. The best O-line they had during his time was probably the one that blew up due to the Bulling scandal during his rookie season. After that it has been nothing but a swinging door or players either near the end of their career (McKinnie), unable to stay healthy (Pouncy), or in over their heads as a starter (Colledge). I’m not saying he was the answer, but he sure as hell wasn’t the biggest issue the offense had. Not resigning James I am torn on as he was a solid RT, but for what he got I just don’t know. Now the only player the O-Line has that is above average is Tunsil so they again have 4 spots that need to be filled no matter who is at QB.
You make some very valid points. The fact is Miami has been a mess from a personnel standpoint for years. They’ve consistently reached in the first round (see Ginn, Jordan, Tannehill) and made poor free agent signings. I know you can cherry-pick 1st round busts for every team, but it just seems that Miami is consistently drafting 1st rounders way earlier than most think those players should be picked. This team needed to switch gears and letting Tannehill go is less an indictment on him and more a tangible sign of completely rebuilding (or building) this thing from the ground up.
I will never understand how people think more guaranteed money means he missed out.
That’s mainly coming from bitter Steeler fans who think he wasn’t loyal.
And comments like these from bitter Steeler haters who have too much time in their moms’ basements.