Steelers Dodged a Bullet....

[Steel Maniac]

However based on that philosophy you WOULD HAVE given Gurley his money.....a now proven mistake.
As someone else said RBs are in fact easily replaceable and not the key cog in a championship in todays NFL.
It is simply foolish to allocate elite dough to the position PERIOD.

Bells underused Backup Blount has lead the SB in rushing THRICE on TWO teams. Heck give me cheap production.....I dont even need you to "stay clean".

I was that “ someone”. Lol. Our running game this coming season will put this remaining Bell chatter to rest.

[fordfixer]

My goodness
You people are obsessed over LB like you're his ex GF.

Everyone knows RBs are a dime a dozen and high risks.

On the bright side his ex’s got away with a half a mil in jewelry. So someone here need to share with the rest of the group

[SidSmythe]

On the bright side his ex’s got away with a half a mil in jewelry. So someone here need to share with the rest of the group

They left his weed stash alone though.

[Northern_Blitz]

And the last time paying big bucks to a runningback resulted in an actual championship.....it was MARSHALL FAULK TWENTY YEARS AGO.

Fast Willie has more rings than HOFer Faulk.

NEVER spend big on a running back

And if you do spend big money, do all you can to limit the term.

[Mr.wizard]

I was that “ someone”. Lol. Our running game this coming season will put this remaining Bell chatter to rest.

What remaining Bell chatter?

[tiproast]

I don't pretend to know what he has done with his money.

Nice.

[flippy]

When Bell scores 20+ TDs in a season, then we can talk about him like he's as talented as Gurley.

Bell's only had more that 10 TDs 2 times. And both were 11 TD seasons.

Heck even James Conner had 13 in his first season despite not even playing in 16 games.

Bell is talented and fun to watch, but not an elite RB. And I'm in agreement that the position is one of the dime a dozen positions.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Players can suffer career threatening/changing injuries at any time. Any player that a team signs to a contract carries risks. Owners and players do what they feel is in their best interest to protect themselves. That's just the nature of the business.

The goal of an organization is to field the best team they possibly can within reason. I really wish Bell and the Steelers could had worked out a deal. Bell made the Steelers a better team.

[BURGH86STEEL]

When Bell scores 20+ TDs in a season, then we can talk about him like he's as talented as Gurley.

Bell's only had more that 10 TDs 2 times. And both were 11 TD seasons.

Heck even James Conner had 13 in his first season despite not even playing in 16 games.

Bell is talented and fun to watch, but not an elite RB. And I'm in agreement that the position is one of the dime a dozen positions.

Bell played like an elite player for the Steelers. The Steelers recognized that and wanted to keep him.

[Steelerphile]

One upon a time the Steelers had a GM who had a famous quote in reference to signing Rod Woodson "We're not the Salvation Army." Tom Donahoe. I disagreed with his sentiments because Rod Woodson had a lot of good years left when he left the Steelers. I am not sure what Woodson was looking for in a contract at the time.

Understandly RBs want contracts with large guarantees, because of the quick expiration date for that position and the constant risk of injury. But it really doesn't make business sense to give huge guarantees to RBs when you can get similar or better production from a committee approach. It is very charitable for organizations to do that. Kind of like a donation not to the "Salvation Army" but the "Rich, Spoiled Athlete Fund". But predictably this will prove to be a bad investment. It is already looking like bad investment for the Rams to give Gurley the huge guarantee and I think in a year, the Jets and their fans will think it was bad investment to give Bell that much also.

[Steel Maniac]

I’m in total agreement with Steelerphile. In a year,The Jets will be in the same boat as the Rams are right now. Remorseful.

[phillyesq]

When Bell scores 20+ TDs in a season, then we can talk about him like he's as talented as Gurley.

Bell's only had more that 10 TDs 2 times. And both were 11 TD seasons.

Heck even James Conner had 13 in his first season despite not even playing in 16 games.

Bell is talented and fun to watch, but not an elite RB. And I'm in agreement that the position is one of the dime a dozen positions.

Bell's versatility made him elite. But James Conner, at a discount of $10 million per season, is very good - and probably actually a better pure runner than Bell - certainly at this stage in his career - and his equal on screen passes. I'll take that minimal dropoff in versatility and the $10 million savings.

I do agree that RB is an easily replaceable position. Elite talent at just about any other position is harder to replace, with a more significant dropoff.

[RuthlessBurgher]

If RB's are truly a dime a dozen, do the Steelers just let James Conner walk after the 2020 season rather than paying him a market value deal once his rookie contract expires?

And if data shows that teams with elite wideouts don't tend to win Super Bowls, do the Steelers just let Juju Smith-Schuster walk after the 2020 season rather than paying him a market value deal once his rookie contract expires?

Just curious...

[Mr.wizard]

If RB's are truly a dime a dozen, do the Steelers just let James Conner walk after the 2020 season rather than paying him a market value deal once his rookie contract expires?

And if data shows that teams with elite wideouts don't tend to win Super Bowls, do the Steelers just let Juju Smith-Schuster walk after the 2020 season rather than paying him a market value deal once his rookie contract expires?

Just curious...

That seems to be the argument.

[Moonie]

Players can suffer career threatening/changing injuries at any time.

This is true in the abstract, but very seldom happens in reality. Shazier, Priest Holmes, Stingley . . . I know there are others, but its very rare. What happens a bit more often is they miss a year (ACL tear, collarbone), but even that is relatively rare. It's also fully paid.

Bell was more concerned with getting the highest number for an RB (rapping about 17 or whatever). He failed miserably, and lost money he was guaranteed to have with the Steelers, if he had just signed the Steelers crazy offer that NO ONE else even came close to. Now, he languishes on the Jets and tubes what could have been a more lucrative career with a winning organization. He's a fool, no matter what way you analyze this.