Le’Veon Bell has expressed optimism over signing a long-term extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, but it sounds like that deal will have to come after the team hits him with the franchise tag a second time.
NFL teams have until Tuesday to use the tag on players, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Steelers are expected to franchise Bell again.
Despite some early optimism at getting a long-term deal done before the deadline, the #Steelers are expected to franchise tag RB Le’Veon Bell before the Tuesday deadline, barring a dramatic turn in talks. Both sides will keep working on a deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2018
The franchise tag, Bell’s second in two years, is slated to be $14.544M. Now the question is when he’ll sign it… https://t.co/JRoXKB2gXn
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2018
While that in no way means the two sides won’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal, it’s not the best sign. At the very least, it likely signifies that Bell and the Steelers aren’t all that close in contract talks.
The Steelers have been open in saying they want to sign Bell to a long-term deal, and some comments Bell made about a month ago made it seem like he felt better about the situation this offseason than he did last. Still, the star running back has also threatened to sit out an entire season or retire rather than play under the franchise tag again. Until a long-term deal is reached, things have the potential to turn ugly.
