Pittsburgh Steelers: Expect same old Bell, even without extension

July 16th is the deadline for Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers to come to an agreement on a contract extension. What will the Steelers get out of Bell if they don’t land a contract extension?

If the Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell can’t land a deal by Monday, 2018 is likely to be the last season Bell wears black and gold. According to an ESPN report, Bell won’t accept less than $14.5 million annually, which is the amount the franchise tag is worth. It is unclear where exactly the Steelers comfort level is with paying Bell that much annually. We’ll have our answer next week.

Steelers Nation will have to get used to Sundays without Bell if no extension is made. The bigger concern, however, is how does this impact the 2018 season? If this is the last time this Steelers offense has Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell together, can they finally get that seventh Lombardi they’ve been chasing.

Bell has already said he will not report to training camp without an extension, same as last season. With Bell not being in camp, and likely not playing a snap in preseason, it’s not farfetched to predict Bell may start off a bit slow similar to the way he did in 2017.

The Steelers’ first four games are at road games against Cleveland and Tampa Bay in weeks one and three respectively. They also have home games in week two against Kansas City and face Baltimore in week four. Cleveland and Tampa Bay (sans-James Winston) should be wins even if Bell weren’t on the field. Kansas City and Baltimore will be tough games, despite Pittsburgh’s success against both teams at Heinz Field. The Steelers could really benefit from having a fresh Bell in both of those games.

The biggest benefit the Steelers will get from Bell this season is that he should be at his very best. It will be a contract year for Bell. For someone who promotes himself as much as Bell does, he needs to prove to teams he’s worth his demands. He has put a high price tag on himself, and while some team out there would pay him a king’s ransom, Bell could lose millions if he underperforms in 2018.

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Even without a long-term deal, Bell will contribute similarly to the way he did in 2017. He will probably be slow out of the gates, but he will be a key piece to a potent offense. With a “Super Bowl or bust” mentality in Pittsburgh, expect the very best from the Steelers offense, including Le’Veon Bell.