The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed the franchise tag on running back Le’Veon Bell, the team announced Monday.
With the deadline to tag players coming up on Wednesday, the Steelers have apparently decided that they are not going to reach an agreement with Bell on a long-term deal before then.
Bell is arguably the best running back in the NFL, and the Steelers have no intention of letting him explore the free agent market. He rushed for 1,268 yards on 261 carries in 2016 despite being suspended for the first three games of the season. Bell added another 616 yards on 75 receptions and scored nine total touchdowns.
The Steelers have reportedly made significant progress on signing wide receiver Antonio Brown to a long-term extension. They will likely turn their focus toward working out a similar deal with Bell in the coming weeks.
