Steelers want Le’Veon Bell for long run, not sure extension fits this year

[RuthlessBurgher]

Steelers want Le’Veon Bell for long run, not sure extension fits this year

Posted by Josh Alper on January 28, 2016, 3:20 PM EST

Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell missed the final eight games of the regular season and both postseason games because of a knee injury, which marked two straight years that the Steelers have advanced to the playoffs without Bell in the lineup because of knee issues.

Throw in a foot injury from his rookie year and Bell hasn’t made it through any of his three NFL seasons without an injury, but that doesn’t appear to have much impact on the team’s plans to hold onto him for the long term. Team president Art Rooney II said Thursday that the team thinks Bell “will still be a great player,” although he’s not sure if they’ll reach agreement on an extension this offseason.


“[Bell] is somebody we would like to continue to have on the team for the long run,” Rooney said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I don’t think we are sitting here waiting to see something from Le’Veon. I think we’ve seen enough. It is going to come down to how his contract fits in with others. It is kind of a jigsaw puzzle.”


Bell has some say in the matter, of course, and negotiating a long-term deal coming off of a season-ending knee injury might not make the most sense for him. If he makes good on Rooney’s prediction that he’ll be a “great player” as his contract expires in 2016, he’d put himself in better position at the negotiating table so that jigsaw puzzle may just have to wait a while.

[URL="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/28/steelers-want-leveon-bell-for-long-run-have-to-see-if-extension-fits-this-year/"]
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/28/steelers-want-leveon-bell-for-long-run-have-to-see-if-extension-fits-this-year/[/URL]

[SidSmythe]

I do not believe in overpaying RBs. Personally I'd prefer to overpay my OLINE.

However, Bell is special. A guy who is a threat anywhere on the field is worth the money. A RB who could line up at WR and run a compete route tree is worth it.

[Shoe]

While he has gone down to season-enders the past two years, neither required reconstruction (ACL). If he were 26 or 27, I might hesitate some. But he's only 23! Give him a deal right now, 5-6 years (all prime years for a 23-year old kid) and lock him in. I think there even is a possibility to get a bit of a discount on him at this point.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

While he has gone down to season-enders the past two years, neither required reconstruction (ACL). If he were 26 or 27, I might hesitate some. But he's only 23! Give him a deal right now, 5-6 years (all prime years for a 23-year old kid) and lock him in. I think there even is a possibility to get a bit of a discount on him at this point.

I wouldn't be upset with something in line with what LeSean McCoy got from buffalo (5 year, $40 mil). I'd say it's a small discount.

[papillon]

Lock this guy up for the next 3-4 or maybe 4-5 years, that's more than the career expectancy of a running back and should give Le'Veon some security and some nice scratch, at that point (depending on the length of the contract) he'll be between 26 and 28 years old and you can make another decision at that time. IMO, if he stays healthy he'll have a HOF career at a time when RB's roles are being diminished by the rules, he is a special player. He is multifaceted and forces defense to do things that they don't want to have to do, he's a match-up nightmare along the lines of Gronk.

I would take the chance on him if I were the GM.

Pappy

[SidSmythe]

Discount??? LoL.
So the most versatile RB in the league is going to seek a discount??

[Shoe]

Discount??? LoL.
So the most versatile RB in the league is going to seek a discount??

I'm talking discount in terms of what he could command if he played out next season and stayed healthy all year... I would think he would command even more.

[Sword]

I do not believe in overpaying RBs. Personally I'd prefer to overpay my OLINE.

However, Bell is special. A guy who is a threat anywhere on the field is worth the money. A RB who could line up at WR and run a compete route tree is worth it.

I agree...protecting a good QB is one of the top priorities...

[feltdizz]

I agree...protecting a good QB is one of the top priorities...

one of the ways of protecting the QB is having a RB who is a great blocker and can catch dump offs out of the backfield.

Ben is much safer with Bell in our backfield

[phillyesq]

I think you have to find a way to pay Bell. DeAngelo was great running the ball but doesn't give you what Bell offers as a receiver. Like AB and MB, Bell is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He had 83 catches for 854 yards in 2014 - most WRs don't have those numbers. Here are the top RB contracts:

[url]http://overthecap.com/position/running-back/[/url]

I don't think you give Bell $14 million, but I think he probably gets an AAV of $10-12 million depending on the guarantee.

[Captain Lemming]

one of the ways of protecting the QB is having a RB who is a great blocker and can catch dump offs out of the backfield.

Ben is much safer with Bell in our backfield

True, and Ben is just better with Bell. Bell is so good as a receiver, he is the only RB Ben looks for as more than a last resort. Ben forces less passes, knowing Bell can make a big play out of a dump off.

[Captain Lemming]

I think you have to find a way to pay Bell. DeAngelo was great running the ball but doesn't give you what Bell offers as a receiver. Like AB and MB, Bell is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He had 83 catches for 854 yards in 2014 - most WRs don't have those numbers. Here are the top RB contracts:

[URL]http://overthecap.com/position/running-back/[/URL]

I don't think you give Bell $14 million, but I think he probably gets an AAV of $10-12 million depending on the guarantee.

The key is extending him early. If you wait he has leverage knowing he can get more somewhere else. Do it early and a "good" not "great" deal is a really big raise and he gets as NOW money. That signing bonus looks real good as compacted to his rookie deal. It is EXACTLY what we did with Brown.

[hausparty]

If we keep Bell we beat the Ravens and the Broncos easily.
If we let him go we will always be that one player away from being special.
THAT SIMPLE!

Ravens allowed us to run the ball all day long against them because they knew DeAngelo wasn't going to kill them and by doing so they were able to sit back and pick Ben apart and on obvious passing downs they were able to bring the heat.

With Bell how do you realistically bring that much heat? Bell is able to do 2 things exceptionally well and that's Pass Protect and get out for the dump off when Ben is in trouble! How do you defend that if you are a defense? Less pressure and more of a spy on Bell? If you do that then how does that relate to the WR's who are going down the field? LB's playing SPY opens up more underneath to Brown, Bryant, Miller, and Wheaton which again is WIN WIN for this offense and its what can make us extra special.

Do you load up 8 in the box to stop Bell when you have Brown and Bryant on the outside? Don't think so!

This game will always come down to X's and O's and if you have a special player who can confuse some of those X's you do everything you can to keep them. PERIOD!

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

I agree that we look at a way to keep Bell. The offense just runs so much smoother with him back there. Even in games where Deangelo put up good numbers, the offense as a whole doesn't look the same. He slows down the pass rush as the D has to account for him, he does a good job of picking up the extra rusher, I'm sure that he is a big topic of conversation when the D gameplans for Steler week. His presence goes well beyond his numbers.

I would be good with a deal that is in the range of 6 years, $51M ($8.5M on average) with $25M (almost 50%) guaranteed.

Pros:
Great all-purpose back
Excels this offense to another level
Still young
Injuries have not required reconstructive surgery

Cons:

Hurt way too much (but never an injury that makes you think he is too soft)

[RuthlessBurgher]

Yup...and the truly special players that we have are Ben, Brown, and Bell. Those are the type of guys you don't mind breaking the bank to keep. The last time a trio that good came around was Aikman, Irvin, and Emmitt.