Le’Veon Bell

AFC Rumors: Bell, Browns, Broncos, Raiders

October 6th, 2018 at 6:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two more game weeks remain before Le’Veon Bell‘s declared reporting window opens during the Steelers‘ bye. The team is still listening to trade offers for the 2017 All-Pro, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. The Jets, 49ers and Eagles have surfaced as interested parties. However, a trade still appears to be the only way Bell will leave the Steelers in 2018. Florio adds the team does not intend to rescind his franchise tender, despite the prolonged absence. This obviously makes sense because the Steelers rescinding the tender would not entitle them to compensation for Bell. Pittsburgh isn’t wavering on this long-held stance, though Florio adds the team must now consider if it would prefer a 2020 third-round compensatory pick or a return likely involving a 2019 selection in a trade. If Bell reports during Week 7, the Steelers would have over a week to work out a trade until the Oct. 30 deadline.

Bell’s plummeting 2018 salary — down more than $3MM from the $14.5MM price at the season’s outset — will affect a prospective transition tag in 2019. The Steelers could place the lesser-used tag on Bell next year on a 20 percent raise from his 2018 salary, which won’t be finalized until he signs his tender, and Florio notes that could be used in a transition tag-and-trade scenario.

Moving to less contentious AFC situations, here’s the latest:

The short Marquette King era in Denver is winding down. Intending to release the veteran punter via injury settlement when he recovers from his groin injury, the Broncos will also eat $1.5MM of King’s $2MM 2018 salary, 9News’ Mike Klis tweets. Neither Vance Joseph nor Broncos ST coordinator Tom McMahon attributed King’s struggles (44.1 yards per punt, 23rd in the NFL) to the groin malady. But King’s agent, Wynn Silberman, said his client encountered the injury during the offseason. “The injury clearly developed in OTAs, but Marquette wanted to fight through it and help the team,’’ Silberman said, via Klis. “He’s disappointed he couldn’t contribute more.” King will visit a San Jose, Calif.-based doctor on Monday, Silberman said. King, 29, averaged 47.4 yards per punt during his final Raiders season. The Broncos traded their previous punter, Riley Dixon, to the Giants after acquiring King.
A Tyrod Taylor trade is certainly possible for the Browns, who have already begun the Baker Mayfield era, doing so despite Hue Jackson‘s repeated intentions to play Taylor for either all or most of this season. Taylor acknowledged a trade request could be something he’ll consider, and ESPNCleveland’s Tony Grossi tweets the Browns could reasonably target a fifth- or sixth-round pick for their current backup quarterback. It may take a signal-caller’s injury to accelerate a Taylor market, because most teams are set at sports’ marquee position, but Cleveland almost certainly would be able to acquire value for the three-plus-year starting quarterback.
The Raiders released Tank Carradine to make room for Rashaan Melvin‘s activation, but the former 49ers defensive lineman requested a fresh start. Carradine was not happy with the playing time he was receiving in Oakland, per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter). Oakland added multiple defensive linemen after the season started, Johnathan Hankins and Clinton McDonald. Carradine played in only one game as a Raider.

Extra Points: Bell, Gregory, Raiders, Carr

October 4th, 2018 at 9:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

With just less than four weeks remaining until the trade deadline, Le’Veon Bell-to-the-Eagles has surfaced on the rumor circuit. The Eagles are reportedly giving serious consideration to making a run at the likely rental running back. But SI.com’s Albert Breer isn’t so sure that’s going to happen. The Eagles don’t see running back as a spot to sink major resources into, per Breer. Bell’s approximately $10MM salary would qualify as a major investment, although that’s dropping by the week because of this unusual holdout. Philadelphia has just less than $5MM in cap room, and Breer notes the improving health of its running backs should help them steer clear of these interesting Bell sweepstakes. Corey Clement and Darren Sproles have yet to return to practice, and Jay Ajayi is playing with a back fracture. The Eagles traded a fourth-rounder for Ajayi before the 2017 trade deadline. Bell as of now plans to report to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye.

Here’s the latest from around the league as Week 5’s first game continues:

Randy Gregory‘s reinstatement conditions caused him to miss the Cowboys‘ Thursday practice. The defensive end was in Chicago meeting with medical director of the NFL’s substance-abuse program, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (on Twitter). He most recently attended this type of summit during the preseason. The NFL reinstated Gregory this summer after his extensive substance-abuse-induced hiatus. His status for Week 5 doesn’t appear to be in question. Gregory’s played 64 snaps this season.
Jimmy Smith‘s return to action this week doesn’t appear to mean Brandon Carr will be bumped from first-string duties. The 11th-year cornerback has started 164 straight games (and every game he’s played as an NFLer), and Ravens DC Wink Martindale doesn’t plan on stopping that run, Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com notes. Smith is eligible to return after a four-game suspension. Carr, Marlon Humphrey and slot man Tavon Young have worked as Baltimore’s top three corners this season. Smith was thriving prior to his season-ending injury last year, so it should be expected he’ll play a big role soon, even if he doesn’t start immediately. Carr’s 164-game start streak resides as the longest among defensive players by 28 games.
While Jon Gruden wanted to take Derwin James in the first round, Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes (subscription required) the Raiders weren’t doing anything except taking a tackle in Round 1. However, if Kolton Miller was gone at No. 15 — where the Raiders dropped to after dealing the No. 10 selection to the Cardinals — Tafur notes they were going to take James or trade down further.
The Dolphins were projected to be among the teams examining the crop of potential first-round quarterbacks, but their 3-1 start could change that. Early in the mock process, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report has the Dolphins taking Clemson cornerback Trayvon Mullen, a player whom multiple area scouts have rising into the first round after a strong start to the season. As for where Miller projects the QBs to fall in Round 1, he has the Giants taking Oregon’s Justin Herbert and No. 5, the Patriots grabbing Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham at No. 17 (though, that draft slot seems certain to drop) and the Bengals selecting Missouri’s Drew Lock at 28.

Eagles Giving ‘Serious Consideration’ To Le’Veon Bell Trade?

October 3rd, 2018 at 1:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles are giving “serious consideration” to the prospect of trading for Le’Veon Bell, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said during a radio interview with Jon Marks and Ike Reese of Sports Radio WIP (Twitter link).

The Eagles have been mulling this trade for a while, per La Canfora, who believes a third-round pick may be enough to get a deal done (Twitter link).

Bell said he would report to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye, but La Canfora doubts he’ll ever play for Pittsburgh again, citing the bridge being burned. Pittsburgh’s still listening to offers, and one could come from the other Pennsylvania franchise. The Eagles’ interest surfaced over the weekend, with La Canfora reporting the defending Super Bowl champs were among the pursuing franchises. The Jets and 49ers join them.

This year’s trade deadline looms in just less than four weeks. The Eagles would have to clear some cap space to afford Bell. While the 26-year-old All-Pro’s price tag continues to drop because of his holdout, it’s still north of $10MM. Philadelphia has $4.3MM in cap space as of Wednesday. The obvious space-clearing move would be to unload backup quarterback Nick Foles, but given Carson Wentz‘s recent return, it would be incredibly risky for the Eagles to do this.

That said, Philadelphia has a unique championship window. Wentz is attached to his rookie deal through at least the end of this season. It’s possible the Eagles, whose 2019 cap sheet represents the NFL’s worst projected situation going into the next league year, could keep Wentz on this deal through 2019 — since he can be controlled on this contract through 2020 via the fifth-year option — but it should be expected for negotiations on a mammoth extension to commence in 2019.

Philly’s seen injuries consistently affect its running back corps. Jay Ajayi is playing with a back fracture, and both Darren Sproles and Corey Clement missed last week’s game. Sproles remains without a clear return timetable. Wendell Smallwood, who had to fight to make the Eagles’ roster as the No. 4 back, was Ajayi’s backup on Sunday.

The Eagles pulled off a major running back trade last year when they acquired Ajayi for a fourth-round pick. It would cost more to obtain Bell, however, although JLC considers a second-round pick an “ambitious” on the Steelers’ part. And Bell would surely be a rental commodity given Philly’s 2019 cap situation. Bell will voyage into a rare free agency situation next year, given his workload history and age, but can still be expected to land a deal in the vicinity of what Todd Gurley and David Johnson are making. The Eagles wouldn’t seem a candidate to authorize that contract, but for this season, it would make sense for the 2-2 team to add another weapon while this title window is open.

Pittsburgh’s 1-2-1 and could also obviously use Bell. It’s made preparations to fit Bell’s franchise tag price into its 2018 cap picture, having restructured several veterans’ contracts to clear space. But the Steelers and Bell waged contract battles for two offseasons, and multiple offensive linemen called out the running back for not reporting prior to Week 1.

Latest On Le’Veon Bell

October 2nd, 2018 at 11:23am CST by Zachary Links

Le’Veon Bell will return to the Steelers…but not right away. The Steelers’ star rusher plans to report to the team during it’s Week 7 bye, putting him in position to make his debut in Week 8 against the Browns.

Of course, nothing can be that cut and dry when it comes to the messy situation between Bell and the Steelers. The Steelers are expected to still field trade offers for the running back between now and the Oct. 31 deadline, so it’s not a given that he’ll be back in black and yellow.

Here’s what Bell has to say about his absence and planned return:

Bell’s exact reporting day is still unclear, but he plans to be ready for Oct. 28 against the Browns and will decide how many practices he needs based on that, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Bell added that he’s in great shape and could play “tomorrow,” if needed. Be that as it may, the Steelers probably aren’t too enthusiastic about Bell dictating his own practice schedule.
The running back says that sitting out the entire season was never an option (via Fowler). “It sucks having to sit out football,” Bell said. “I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs. But I’ve gotta take this stand. Knowing my worth and knowing I can tear a ligament or get surgery at any time, I knew I couldn’t play 16 games with 400 or more touches.”
Looking ahead to March, Bell speculated that the Jets, 49ers, Colts, Browns and Eagles would be among the teams interested in his services, though he says he’d want to join a club that values his skill set and winning. “I know the guaranteed money will be there [in March],” Bell said. “If a team wanted to, they could definitely do what they needed to do to make me happy and satisfied.“

Le’Veon Bell To Report To Steelers During Week 7 Bye

October 1st, 2018 at 6:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

6:09 pm: Although Bell has now made it known he plans on reporting to the Steelers, the team is still “expected to be interested in listening to trade offers” for the running back, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Schefter notes that Bell’s announcement will “not dissuade” the Steelers from making a deal if the terms are favorable. It remains unclear what kind of trade market Bell would have for a one-year rental, but it’s possible they could get something. It was reported yesterday that the Eagles and 49ers had some interest.

5:46pm: The question everyone in the football world has been asking finally has an answer. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell plans to report to the team during Pittsburgh’s bye week in Week 7, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN (Twitter link).

It’s a great day to be a Steelers fan, as Fowler adds “Bell definitely plans to play football for the Steelers this season.” Bell’s future with the team seemed to be in serious doubt as recently as earlier this week, when it was reported that the Steelers were actively shopping him. It’s possible the threat of an imminent trade caused Bell to re-consider his stance and leak the news of his impending return.

The news means the Steelers will only have to go two more games without Bell, Week 5 and 6 matchups against the Falcons and Bengals respectively. The news couldn’t come at a better time for the Steelers, as the team is currently in disarray. Fresh off a 12 point home loss on Sunday Night Football to the Ravens, the Steelers currently find themselves at 1-2-1, tied with the Browns for last place in the AFC North.

While James Conner has filled in admirably, it will be a huge boost to the Steelers’ offense. Teams simply don’t have to gameplan to stop Conner in the way that they do Bell. Assuming Bell does return during the bye, his first game will be back at home in Pittsburgh for a game against Cleveland. It’s unclear how this bizarre and relatively unprecedented situation will impact Bell’s longterm future in Pittsburgh or his 2019 free agency, but we should have a lot more clarity soon.

Bell will sign his franchise tender, and assuming the Steelers don’t agree to any 2018 pay-raise, he’ll earn just a tick under $10MM as his $14.94MM franchise tag salary would be prorated over the 11 weeks he’ll spend with the team.

Steelers Actively Shopping Le’Veon Bell; Eagles, 49ers Interested

September 30th, 2018 at 11:39am CST by Rory Parks

Last week, reports that the Steelers were listening to trade offers for running back Le’Veon Bell became the latest development in the long and winding Bell saga. Today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) reports that Pittsburgh is actively shopping Bell and is not simply waiting on calls from rival clubs.

In addition to the obvious complications to finalizing a Bell trade — which Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk laid out again today — Rapoport says that the Steelers’ asking price is reportedly too high for other teams at the moment. RapSheet indicates that Pittsburgh is currently asking for a second-round pick and a player in exchange for Bell, which another club is almost certainly not going to give up. Bell’s talent doubtlessly merits such a return, but the fact that he will effectively be a one-year rental — and an expensive rental at that — will limit what the Steelers can get in a Bell swap.

Right now, however, it appears that Pittsburgh is not in any rush to lower its demands. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports points out, the trade deadline is still a month away, and the Steelers are currently willing to let the market develop. La Canfora adds that the Jets and 49ers have made “exploratory calls” to Pittsburgh, though San Francisco’s interest in Bell may no longer be very high after the team lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the season.

The Eagles, though, are also interested, per La Canfora. The Eagles are obvious contenders and have suffered a number of injuries to their backfield that could prompt the ever-aggressive Howie Roseman to get creative in his push for back-to-back titles. Philadelphia would of course need to clear some cap space in order to acquire Bell, but there are ways to do that (like jettisoning backup QB Nick Foles).

La Canfora writes that the Steelers would be willing to deal one disgruntled star for another by sending Bell to the Seahawks in exchange for safety Earl Thomas, but there has been no contact between Pittsburgh and Seattle at this point.

Indeed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that no team has been aggressive in pursuing Bell thus far. That jibes with a tweet from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who says that there is minimal trade buzz surrounding Bell at the moment.

Schefter also notes that, the longer Bell stays away from the Steelers, the more he could lose on his 2019 pay. For instance, if any team were to use the transition tag on Bell next season, the tag number would be 120 percent of this season’s salary, so the more 2018 game checks Bell misses out on, the lower the tag number would be. Of course, Bell could appeal such a matter to an arbitrator, but his holdout is becoming riskier with each passing week.

Latest On Le’Veon Bell

September 25th, 2018 at 9:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers can technically net a compensatory draft pick by revoking Le’Veon Bell‘s tag and losing him to another team, but their previous free agency signings would cancel out the loss of the running back, as Mike Florio of PFT writes.

The Steelers didn’t have the splashiest offseason out there, but they did sign safety Morgan Burnett and linebacker Jon Bostic while losing only tackle Chris Hubbard – all of whom count in the formula. Therefore, if there were to lose Bell right now, it wouldn’t do anything to help their case in terms of 2019 draft picks.

On the other hand, losing Bell as a free agent next year would make a positive mark on their 2020 comp pick formula, provided that they do not add too many compensatory free agents.

So, the Steelers are likely still using a 2020 third-round pick as a reference point in trade talks and would not accept anything less than that in a deal. A 2019 third-round pick could convince them to pull the trigger on a trade, since it carries a higher value and would give them less to worry about when it comes to the 2020 comp formula.

There’s no shortage of teams that would like to land Bell, but any club acquiring him via trade would have to wait until after the season to negotiate a long-term deal. That, coupled with the fact that Bell wants to shatter the market for running backs, will limit the Steelers’ potential return. Still, the Jets have already phoned the Steelers, and other clubs have surely opened up trade talks with GM Kevin Colbert.

Jets Express Interest In Le’Veon Bell

September 24th, 2018 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have reached out to the Steelers about trading for Le’Veon Bell, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets have become the first known team, but certainly not last, to inquire on the superstar running back.

The Jets have yet to make a concrete offer for Bell, but they believe the Steelers are serious about moving him, Mehta hears. Bell is set to miss the third game of the season when the Steelers face the Bucs on Monday night, and with no end to his holdout in sight, the Steelers recently opened up the phone lines for trade discussion.

This offseason, the Steelers hit Bell with the franchise tag for the second straight year. He’s under contract for 2018 with his one-year, $14.54MM placeholder (or, rather, the prorated portion of that), but any team acquiring Bell will have to wait until the season is over before negotiating an extension with him. For that reason, Bell’s trade value is capped for Pittsburgh. Any team acquiring Bell will have to lock him up to a mammoth contract to keep him in the long run while having no assurances of that deal coming together.

The Steelers would likely receive a third-round compensatory pick in 2020 by keeping Bell and allowing him to leave as a free agent next offseason, but that’s not a guarantee due to the complex comp pick formula. Instead, the Steelers would prefer to net a 2019 third-round choice – or perhaps even settle for a ’19 fourth-round pick.

The Jets have not had a running back of Bell’s talent level in his prime since the days of Curtis Martin, so they’d surely love to add Bell for the right price.

Steelers Listening To Trade Offers For Le’Veon Bell

September 23rd, 2018 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Parks

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that the Steelers are listening to trade offers for disgruntled running back Le’Veon Bell, who has yet to report to the team (Twitter link). While we might expect further clarification shortly, as of right now it is unclear whether Pittsburgh is actively shopping Bell or if the team is simply fielding calls. Likewise, we do not know which teams (if any) have approached the Steelers about a potential trade.

The Bell saga has been one of the most well-documented storylines of the past several offseasons. The last substantive report we heard on the matter came several weeks ago, which suggested that Bell could hold out until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season (he would preserve his free agency status by returning by that point). However, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explored today, Bell could decide to skip the entire 2018 season, which would be a risky, but potentially profitable, move.

We had previously heard that the Steelers were unwilling to either rescind Bell’s franchise tag or trade the star running back, so today’s report represents a rather dramatic change in thinking. Still, it is fair to wonder just how much a rival club would be willing to give up for the rights to Bell given his holdouts, the mileage he already has on his legs, and his contract status. Indeed, any team that trades for Bell would be precluded from negotiating a long-term deal with him before the end of the season, and the franchise tag value for him for 2019 would be unpalatable. Plus, such team would of course need to have a fair amount of cap space this year.

But if a club is able to acquire Bell, it would obviously land a playmaker that would dramatically increase that team’s chances of making a championship run. And the Steelers, who are 0-1-1 and dealing with a number of other concerns, may simply want to get what they can for Bell and move forward with James Conner as their lead back.

Community Tailgate: Le’Veon Bell

September 22nd, 2018 at 8:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nothing’s transpired on the Le’Veon Bell front going into the Steelers’ Week 3 game, continuing one of the most unique sagas in modern NFL history.

Steelers brass bracing for a lengthy Bell absence looks accurate at this point, with no near-future debut date in sight for the two-time All-Pro running back. Rather than angle for more money in his Steelers walk year, Bell is taking a self-preservation stance in avoiding as much punishment as possible in hopes of securing a landmark free agency accord as a result.

But is he making the right decision? Bell will have lost out on more than $2.5MM by the end of Week 3 and stands to lose out on millions more if he pushes the holdout to the Week 10 deadline.

The Steelers placed the ball in his court. They aren’t going to rescind his franchise tag. They don’t plan to trade him, which would essentially place another team in their predicament as the employer of a rental player, and will not set a precedent of enhancing his prorated franchise tag number (once set at $14.5MM).

For now, probably the second-best player on a team that entered the season with the second-best odds at an AFC title is out of the picture despite being presumably healthy. Meanwhile, the Steelers are struggling at 0-1-1. While they aren’t exactly in must-win territory just yet, that time may be fast approaching. But the traditional organization caving to Bell by authorizing any kind of raise seems highly unlikely. And James Conner fared well in Week 1, when Pittsburgh’s game script was not thrust into the pass-heavy mode Week 2 required.

Bell’s banking on recouping the funds he’s currently losing, and then some, with major guaranteed money (which didn’t appear to be on the table from the Steelers, though reports vary on what guarantees were offered in July) come March.

He will be a coveted commodity as a free agent, but at 27 (in February) and with high mileage on his odometer regardless of when he resumes his Steelers career, can Bell expect to land a Todd Gurley– or David Johnson-level contract? Gurley signed his near-$15MM-per-year/$45MM guaranteed megadeal when he had 786 career carries. Johnson inked his three-year, $39MM accord with 429 career totes. Bell will begin his 2018 season with 1,229. That’s a substantial difference from not only his high-dollar ball-carrying peers but from backs who comprised recent free agent contingents. Teams could be leery of Bell slowing down in his late 20s as a result.

Some execs are not viewing the sixth-year player’s holdout as a smart move for his future. But then again, he’s going to draw interest because of his past production. And he’s obviously less likely to suffer an injury while away from the Steelers than playing in games. Although, Bell already has a serious knee injury on his NFL medical sheet — an MCL tear in 2015. The old-school workloads the Steelers gave him during his years as their starter, in addition to his past with injuries (which also includes maladies in the 2014 and ’16 playoffs), will Bell get what he wants come March?

Can these circumstances reach one-year, prove-it deal proportions? Or will Bell cash in due to some teams — headlined by the Colts and Jets — holding cap space and a lack of backfield options on his level? And how will this holdout affect his stock when it does come time to hit the market? What effect does this have on the Steelers’ 2018 hopes? Weigh in on this issue in the comments section.

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