The Pittsburgh Steelers finally decided over the past two weeks that they are willing to listen to trade offers for Le’Veon Bell, and their desire to deal the star running back appears to be increasing by the day.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Sunday that the Steelers have begun “actively shopping” Bell, meaning they are now the ones initiating calls with teams about a trade.
From @gmfb Weekend: The #Steelers are now activately shopping RB Le'Veon Bell, sources say, making calls and doing due diligence. A trade would be difficult, but not impossible. pic.twitter.com/EltwpqYrNs
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2018
Rapoport says the Steelers have been asking for too much, as their demands reportedly include a second-round pick and a “good player.” That’s a lot to give up for a player who has around $10 million remaining on his contract this year and is set to become a free agent after the season.
We already know of at least one team that is interested in acquiring Bell, and there are surely others. However, teams that aren’t going to be playoff contenders would probably prefer to wait until the offseason to try to sign Bell. Bell has also given no indication that he plans to show up before he has to in Week 10, which takes leverage away from Pittsburgh in trade discussions.
