A $100 million contract for Bell would infuriate most, but should it? Hear me out...

[Ernie]

While these things may be true, the question is... does that make him worth double any current RB salary in the league?

[Steel Maniac]

No. .................

[feltdizz]

I'm curious how accurate this actually is. I watch all the games like you all... Overwhelmingly, his passes come from dump offs and screens; I don't recall too many he catches out of the slot.

They like to say he does that, but the only highlight they show is that slant he caught on (I think) DAL two years ago as an example (of his WR skills).

huh? Bell has split out wide and caught passes, he can run the whole route tree..

does this mean most of his passes will come from being split out wide?

nope, but he CAN do it and the threat alone causes a major mismatch for defenses when they have to put a DB or LB on Bell.

[feltdizz]

While these things may be true, the question is... does that make him worth double any current RB salary in the league?

I think it does..

cause honestly, I think it's insane that the top RB's only make 8 mill. That's just insulting IMO.

[Slapstick]

I think it does..

cause honestly, I think it's insane that the top RB's only make 8 mill. That's just insulting IMO.

The market for RBs in the NFL is what it is...if the NFLPA didn’t like it, they could slot the pay for different positions just like they do for draft picks. They don’t, because it is better for the majority if they don’t. That sucks for RBs, but that is how markets work...

[Sword]

no thanks!!! no way!!!

[feltdizz]

The market for RBs in the NFL is what it is...if the NFLPA didn’t like it, they could slot the pay for different positions just like they do for draft picks. They don’t, because it is better for the majority if they don’t. That sucks for RBs, but that is how markets work...

I know what it is...

I'm giving my opinion on it.

[Northern_Blitz]

I think it does..

cause honestly, I think it's insane that the top RB's only make 8 mill. That's just insulting IMO.

More importantly, the Steelers think so as well.

I think that their decision to pay him on the tag says that a healthy Bell is worth paying that much right now. If the reported long term deal is legit, they also believe that it's worth paying him that much for 4 years.

Personally, I don't mind doing it for another year. But, I given Bell's work load I don't think he maintains his performance for 4 years. I'd be especially worried about that based on his YPC last year. Maybe that ticks up this season...but maybe it continues moving down quickly too.

[feltdizz]

More importantly, the Steelers think so as well.

I think that their decision to pay him on the tag says that a healthy Bell is worth paying that much right now. If the reported long term deal is legit, they also believe that it's worth paying him that much for 4 years.

Personally, I don't mind doing it for another year. But, I given Bell's work load I don't think he maintains his performance for 4 years. I'd be especially worried about that based on his YPC last year. Maybe that ticks up this season...but maybe it continues moving down quickly too.

one year isn't a trend, now if his ypc goes down again this year then yes, cause for concern.

however, I don't think there has ever been a position where a guy has been a beast for 4 years and then production drops a bit for one year and everyone uses that as leverage.

[Northern_Blitz]

one year isn't a trend, now if his ypc goes down again this year then yes, cause for concern.

however, I don't think there has ever been a position where a guy has been a beast for 4 years and then production drops a bit for one year and everyone uses that as leverage.

I agree that it's not a trend.

But, I think it reduces my faith in Bell's long term performance.

I believe that RBs usually decline sharply when they decline. Bell is younger than the age when I think of this happening (~30), but he has significantly more touches relative to other backs in the league (even just carries). Those things, combined with the sharp decline in YPC make me more comfortable with tagging him and letting him walk vs. paying him a large portion of the cap for the next 4 years.

[NorthCoast]

Bell represented >30% of the Steelers offense in 2017 (total yds). I contend this imbalance would only continue or get worse if a blockbuster long term agreement is reached, since the Steelers may feel obligated to play him even more. I further contend this would be to the detriment of the Steelers offense to be so single threaded. It will be interesting to see how the new OC deals with this situation if he is given full reign for gameplanning.