The Le’Veon Bell saga may be coming to an end this week, and there could be a surprising outcome.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that Bell is unlikely to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers by Tuesday’s deadline.
Steelers’ running back Le'Veon Bell is unlikely to report to the team by Tuesday's deadline, which would make him ineligible to play the rest of this season, multiple league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 11, 2018
The implications of such a move are far-reaching.
Bell would be ineligible to play this season if he does not report by Tuesday. He will also not earn any money for playing this season.
Just what does this mean for his future? That part remains complicated. This was the second year in a row that the Steelers franchise tagged Bell. The CBA does not clearly spell out whether it would count as the second or third time Bell has been tagged if the Steelers do so again next year. Does a franchise tag count if a player does not sign nor show up? The CBA does not explicitly address that question. Bell is under the impression that it would count as the third time, which would give him such an elevated price tag (the average of the top 5 highest paid players in the NFL) that it wouldn’t be viable for Pittsburgh.
Of course, even if the tag used this year did not count since Bell did not show up, would Pittsburgh use the franchise tag on Bell again next year — even at a reasonable $14.5 million price — and risk going through the same situation for the second year in a row? Maybe not.
Bell may end up hitting free agency as he hoped without putting additional stress on his body this year. On the flip side, he has not been able to compete with his teammates, and he sacrificed over $14 million. He does not seem to regret his moves one bit.
