Alejandro Villanueva has teammate on his side in contract battle with Steelers

[Mr.wizard]

and he also doesnt play the same position as AB

RBs dont get paid as much in todays NFL and Wrs do. comparing touches and statistics and games missed and anything else really doesnt matter. the market is the market

starting to feel like a squeeze job by the steelers and they have every right to do it. its a really interesting situation.

I agree, "the market is the market" if your the best at your position and other teams want you, then your price tag is going to be high. I don't think the Steelers are squeezing Bell though, because I think Bell is in the drivers seat. He can either take a long term deal from the Steelers or he can get top dollar for the next two seasons and then hit the free agent market. In my opinion the pressure is on the Steelers to put together a deal that makes Bell want to stay.

[Slapstick]

Because AB doesn't get smoke pot or isn't stupid enough to get caught...and he is always on the field.

And, again, 15 more TDs over the last four years...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Steelers’ Alejandro Villanueva still unsigned, may not report to camp
Posted by Michael David Smith on July 18, 2017, 12:01 PM EDT

Le’Veon Bell isn’t the only Steeler who might not show up for training camp.

Pittsburgh left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and his agent are declining to say whether he’ll be there when camp opens, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The 28-year-old Villanueva has had an unusual football journey: He played football at Army, went undrafted in 2010, served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, got picked up by the Eagles in 2014 but got cut in the preseason, spent that year on the Steelers’ practice squad, became a regular player in 2015 and started all 16 games in 2016. Now he’s an unsigned exclusive-rights free agent, meaning he doesn’t have a contract but doesn’t have the ability to shop himself to any other team. The Steelers have extended Villanueva the $615,000 exclusive-rights tender, but Villanueva thinks a starting left tackle is worth more than that and hasn’t signed.

Because of Villanueva’s status as an exclusive-rights free agent, the Steelers have plenty of leverage. Where Villanueva has leverage is in his ability to refuse to show up for work. He may decide to use that leverage.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/07/18/steelers-alejandro-villanueva-still-unsigned-may-not-report-to-camp/

[papillon]

I agree, "the market is the market" if your the best at your position and other teams want you, then your price tag is going to be high. I don't think the Steelers are squeezing Bell though, because I think Bell is in the drivers seat. He can either take a long term deal from the Steelers or he can get top dollar for the next two seasons and then hit the free agent market. In my opinion the pressure is on the Steelers to put together a deal that makes Bell want to stay.

In the meantime he may get 640 carries, 120 receptions, plus blocking, that's a lot punishment even for a 25 year old body. If the Steelers feel they won't sign him, they should get as much as they can out of him over the next two years.

Pappy

[feltdizz]

In the meantime he may get 640 carries, 120 receptions, plus blocking, that's a lot punishment even for a 25 year old body. If the Steelers feel they won't sign him, they should get as much as they can out of him over the next two years.

Pappy

Coaches said Bell didn't want to come out of games but I bet this year and next he will start coming to the sideline more often.

[Slapstick]

Coaches said Bell didn't want to come out of games but I bet this year and next he will start coming to the sideline more often.

Kind of hard to "get better" if you do that...

[Ernie]

Coaches said Bell didn't want to come out of games but I bet this year and next he will start coming to the sideline more often.

Im good with him taking fewer snaps. He's going to give it his all when he's in there... he's not going to play himself out of a contract.

[feltdizz]

Im good with him taking fewer snaps. He's going to give it his all when he's in there... he's not going to play himself out of a contract.

yup, we could give Bell 110% to 20% less touches and have the same production or maybe even better production due to him being healthier later in the year.

[Slapstick]

Or, he could just as easily be injured again.

[feltdizz]

Or, he could just as easily be injured again.

on any given play.. and this is why its foolish to give Bell touches when a game is wrapped up.

[NorthCoast]

I expect Bell's touches will decline at least 25% this season. Why? The Steelers have too many good WRs not to use them.

[feltdizz]

I expect Bell's touches will decline at least 25% this season. Why? The Steelers have too many good WRs not to use them.

I hope so but seems like every year we end up thin at WR.

[phillyesq]

yup, we could give Bell 110% to 20% less touches and have the same production or maybe even better production due to him being healthier later in the year.

I thought he should have gotten a few more breaks last year. You could see late in some games he could barely run. From an effectiveness standpoint, I think it makes sense to shift some of those carries to Connor this year. I'm not talking about shifting a ton of work, but there were five games where he had more than 28 carries, including 38 carries in the Buffalo game.

[NorthCoast]

I thought he should have gotten a few more breaks last year. You could see late in some games he could barely run. From an effectiveness standpoint, I think it makes sense to shift some of those carries to Connor this year. I'm not talking about shifting a ton of work, but there were five games where he had more than 28 carries, including 38 carries in the Buffalo game.

Quite possibly the Steelers were testing Bell knowing the upcoming big contract was coming. If you're going to make him the highest paid RB in the NFL, what load can he really sustain over time? Will he break down quickly, or will it be a gradual slide as the season progresses? Can he finish a season strong? I know these are the kinds of answers I would want as a GM trying to negotiate his value.

[feltdizz]

Quite possibly the Steelers were testing Bell knowing the upcoming big contract was coming. If you're going to make him the highest paid RB in the NFL, what load can he really sustain over time? Will he break down quickly, or will it be a gradual slide as the season progresses? Can he finish a season strong? I know these are the kinds of answers I would want as a GM trying to negotiate his value.

I doubt it was a test. Bell has always stated he always wants the ball and doesn't want to share the load. That was just bad coaching IMO.