The Pittsburgh Steelers have no interest in dragging out the drama with Le’Veon Bell any further.
On Wednesday, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert revealed that the team is not planning to use the transition tag on Bell, which means he will become a free agent next month.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert says they will not put tag on Le'Veon Bell, thus he will become a UFA
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) February 20, 2019
Although they have franchise tagged him for the past two seasons, the Steelers still had the option of using the transition tag on Bell this offseason. That would give them the right to match any contract offer the star running back receives on the open market, but it’s no surprise they’d rather avoid that altogether.
There had been reports that Pittsburgh could consider bringing Bell back if no other team is willing to blow him away with an offer, but the relationship between the two sides is damaged beyond repair. Bell’s situation was a huge distraction for the Steelers in 2018, so it makes more sense for them to simply move on from him.
While the Steelers are said to have made an effort to convince Bell to come back at one point, we need look no further than the fact that he sat out the entire 2018 season. Using another tag on him would only delay the inevitable.
