The Bell Offer

[Steel Maniac]

I wonder how can Bell walk into the locker room with his teammates after turning down that kind of money? If I'm a team mate of his, I'm thinking this guy really doesn't want to be here because of what he turned down. Team camaraderie is a real thing; and Bell's turn down of such a generous offer will cause a negative ripple effect on this team towards him and maybe as a team as a whole.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Bell finally shows up. Remember, these guys will have gone thru a camp and a few preseason games together sweating, hurting and bonding together just to see a guy who did none of that with them just walk in.. and has shown he really doesn't want to be with them.

[feltdizz]

Football players understand this is a business. No one will be mad at Bell. If anything they will envy is gutsy move to bet on himself.

While we see Bell making 14.5 mill the players see the FO stopping Bell from testing the market 2 years in a row.

[Steel Maniac]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/07/17/would-the-steelers-rescind-the-franchise-tender-for-leveon-bell/

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

I could see him deciding the first 8 games are not worth showing up for.

If you think he is all about the green, that would leave over $7M on the table.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Remember, Devonte Freeman is available too and he has the same skill set as Bell. He's making 8.5 mil this year.

What? Freeman isn't available. He accepted a 5 year deal a year ago and therefore is signed through 2022.

[feltdizz]

What? Freeman isn't available. He accepted a 5 year deal a year ago and therefore is signed through 2022.

the misinformation is amazing

he is throwing stuff at the website and seeing what sticks

[NorthCoast]

Bell and his agent don't seem to understand math.

He wanted 17m per yr. The Steelers gave him 16.5m guaranteed for 2 yrs. He should have played on that contract and then held out to renegotiate if he really wanted more. There's no difference between 33m and 34m over 2 yrs.

Now consider, to make as much money in 2 yrs as he would have gotten in the Steelers contract, now he's gotta get 19m next year to catch up.

That's not happening. Even if he gets 3 yrs guaranteed in his next contract at 17m, it effectively adds 32m guaranteed in 3-4 yrs from now. That's 1m less than the 33m he'd have been guaranteed over the next 2 yrs. What player in their prime would take less like that? If he gets 18m/yr and 3 yrs guaranteed next yr, that would get him a 9% bump over the next 2 yrs he could have had guaranteed which is really insignificant.

Heck if he gets 20m/yr for 3yrs guaranteed, it's only a 24% bump over the next 2 yrs guaranteed. I can't see a contract where Bell wins long term compared to the Steelers offer. He's risking his body and ability to play with every carry. If he holds out at all, he's upside down and will never make back the money he could have had.

If the salary cap were going up in the next 2 yrs, maybe he had a play here, but he doesn't. I think the question is should we want or have faith in a player that's made such a poor decision.

I'm all for guys getting the money they can, but at some point you look like a fool. Bell has tarnished his legacy here.

Bell and/or his agent clearly don't understand the time value of money. Or if they do, they simply ignored it because LB has become fixated on free agency. I honestly hope he has a blockbuster year for the Steelers because it will help get them to the post-season once again. Next year is next year and both sides likely have philosophically moved on from a long term deal. The Steelers offer after next season is likely to be VERY team friendly.

[Disco1981]

Bravo Steelers...Bell screwed up here.4 ypc and 7 ypr are piss poor. Bell is slowing down every year, 1 run of 20 yards the last 2 seasons...

Heavy, heavy useage since he's gotten here AND he college...Even when he had capable backups ( that part is the Steelers fault )

Also factor in that he's had surgery on both knees, groin, and also being one puff away...

I just think you are going to see a rapid decline in Bell, and the Steelers will br better off in the long run for not getting him huge money!

[feltdizz]

Bravo Steelers...Bell screwed up here.4 ypc and 7 ypr are piss poor. Bell is slowing down every year, 1 run of 20 yards the last 2 seasons...

Heavy, heavy useage since he's gotten here AND he college...Even when he had capable backups ( that part is the Steelers fault )

Also factor in that he's had surgery on both knees, groin, and also being one puff away...

I just think you are going to see a rapid decline in Bell, and the Steelers will br better off in the long run for not getting him huge money!

This will probably end up being a Mike Wallace type thing. Fans will say he screwed up even though he got a nice payday. Difference is Bell is more well rounded in his game than MW so while he might see some drop off due to being on a bottom feeder he is still going to be productive.

[Slapstick]

I think it will end up like Mike Wallace in that the team that signs him will
end up being disappointed...

Bettis was right...he probably won’t be as good anywhere else...

[feltdizz]

I think it will end up like Mike Wallace in that the team that signs him will
end up being disappointed...

Bettis was right...he probably won’t be as good anywhere else...

nah, I doubt that, Bell is too good and can make something out of nothing when plays break down.

Unless he gets hurt I don't think any team will be disappointed with his production.

[Steel Maniac]

Bravo Steelers...Bell screwed up here.4 ypc and 7 ypr are piss poor. Bell is slowing down every year, 1 run of 20 yards the last 2 seasons...

Heavy, heavy useage since he's gotten here AND he college...Even when he had capable backups ( that part is the Steelers fault )

Also factor in that he's had surgery on both knees, groin, and also being one puff away...

I just think you are going to see a rapid decline in Bell, and the Steelers will br better off in the long run for not getting him huge money!

Let's apply this to a real team; fast forward to next year................

** The Jets will be at or near the top of the draft next year; meaning they can take a running back at the top of the first or second round. If your the Jets, do you pay Bell 17mil a year or do you take next year's Saquon Barkley in the first round? (or the 2nd, 3rd best runningback in the draft at the top of the second round.) I know what I'm doing.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers will soon learn Le'Veon Bell's greatest quality is overrated

July 17, 2018

When Le'Veon Bell declined the Steelers' latest contract offer, he essentially saved Pittsburgh from itself. The team is being blinded by what it perceives to be great value in a three-down running back.

If Le'Veon Bell were a soccer player, he'd be known worldwide by a single name. There'd be no need for his surname. He'd simply be Le'Veon to every child from Manchester to Madrid to Maracaibo.

We say this not because it is certain that Bell's remarkable athletic skills would translate easily to that other brand of football, but to make a point about what has become his most obvious talent: He never has to leave the field.

This is of immense value in a sport that limits substitutions, as soccer does with only three players allowed to be replaced during a game. In the NFL, however, a coach can practically sub for a guy in the middle of a play. So Bell's claim to greatness, at this point in his career, has a hollow ring to it.

The Steelers offered an extravagant amount of money to Bell for the luxury of never having to sub out their running back. Bell continues to insist he is worth even more, although the offer presented to him was worth 50 percent more than any other back in the league is earning. So Monday he made it known there would be no agreement on a long-term contract in advance of the NFL's deadline to sign or play under the franchise tag. He will play this season for $14.5 million and almost certainly will enter the 2019 offseason as a free agent.

Which means it's now time for Bell to be the great player he says he is, and not just someone versatile enough to play every down.

In a Twitter post announcing his decision to decline the Steelers’ offer, Bell promised exactly that: “Im sorry we let you down but trust me, 2018 will be my best season to date."

That’s not exactly setting the bar where only Sergei Bubka can clear it.

Bell’s best year as a pro came in 2014, when he rushed for 1,361 yards and a 4.8-yard average, along with 83 pass receptions for a 10.3 average. Since then, he has been suspended twice, missed a significant portion of the 2015 season with an knee injury and had to leave the 2016 season’s AFC championship game early because of groin problem.

A year ago, fully healthy and unsuspended, he skipped all of training camp, showed up just before the season began and then produced 236 combined yards from scrimmage in the first three weeks. He finished with a per-carry average of 4.0, which ranked 24th in the league, and a per-catch average of 7.7 yards. His basic fantasy football stats were good — 1,291 rushing yards, nine touchdowns — but it doesn't take Bill James’ brain to figure beyond that.

Bell, and now his agent, insist that Bell's value supersedes that of a traditional running back because of his contributions as a pass-catcher. Mostly, though, his worth was contained by his willingness to stay in the game.

Bell produced only three runs of 20 yards or longer and five catches of 20 yards or more last season. Although his ability as a receiver is not overstated, his production was unimpressive. Bell led NFL running backs with 85 receptions, more evidence of his ability to stay on the field through every down. But he averaged only 7.7 yards per catch, largely because an enormous chunk of his receptions did little to advance the Steelers toward the goal line. He had 22 catches that covered 3 or fewer yards, including eight for negative yardage.

This demonstrates Bell had become, under previous offensive coordinator Todd Haley, someone whose pass receiving was largely limited to dump-offs after Bell remained in the backfield to deal with any blitzing defenders. This was true even though the Steelers did not overemphasize first-down runs; they passed the ball about as often as they ran it. They could have used him more often split wide or in the slot, but they declined this option.

Perhaps new coordinator Randy Fichtner will see value in having Bell employ the receiving skill he demonstrated in the Jacksonville playoff loss, with his beautiful catch on a third-quarter wheel route over the shoulder of linebacker Telvin Smith.

However, even without paying Bell like he is something beyond a running back, at least in the eyes of the player and his agent, the Steelers still are investing dramatically more at the position than the teams they are chasing. Bell will play in 2018 with the second-highest salary cap hit on the team. None of the past three Super Bowl champions had a running back who ranked in the top 20. None had a back earn even $2 million. Five Philadelphia backs counted a combined $3.21 million against the cap last season. That’s a quarter of what Pittsburgh paid Bell on the 2017 franchise tag.

And yet the Eagles ranked No. 3 last season in rushing yards. The Steelers were 20th. The Steelers were third in passing, but Bell’s 655 receiving yards represented only 15 percent of the team’s total. No. 3 wideout Martavis Bryant nearly matched that on 20 fewer targets. They ranked only 18th in red-zone touchdown percentage, an astonishing failure given the value they're assigning to Bell's talents.

By declining a contract offer that reportedly would have guaranteed $30 million in the first two years and averaged $15 million for its five-year term, Bell essentially saved the Steelers from themselves. If Bell believes he is worth more than this, he either will have to produce a monumental season or find a team even more invested in the idea of rarely subbing.

After it was determined the Steelers and Bell could not reach a deal, the player’s agent, Adisa Bakari, declared to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “It became clear the Steelers wanted to pay the position, not the player.”

As soon as Bell signs his franchise deal, the Steelers will be vastly overpaying both. At least it will continue only one more year.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/steelers-leveon-bell-contract-overrated-value-running-back/1eyk0tnc24aqi1aezg4ycp7yh0

[RuthlessBurgher]

Let's apply this to a real team; fast forward to next year................

** The Jets will be at or near the top of the draft next year; meaning they can take a running back at the top of the first or second round. If your the Jets, do you pay Bell 17mil a year or do you take next year's Saquon Barkley in the first round? (or the 2nd, 3rd best runningback in the draft at the top of the second round.) I know what I'm doing.

However, the Jets could also use an upgrade at pass rusher, in the secondary, on the offensive line, etc., etc., etc., and they could sign an elite talent like Bell then use their top picks at those positions.

[Slapstick]

However, the Jets could also use an upgrade at pass rusher, in the secondary, on the offensive line, etc., etc., etc., and they could sign an elite talent like Bell then use their top picks at those positions.

Which is what they probably should do...picking a RB at the top of the draft (Saquon Barkley not withstanding) isn’t usually a great move...not if a top shelf pass rusher or CB is available...