Pittsburgh Steelers, Le’Veon Bell unable to reach new deal

For the second consecutive season, Le’Veon Bell has failed to reach a long-term deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After months of negotiations, the Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Le’Veon Bell were unable to reach a long-term deal. Bell, entering his sixth season in the NFL, failed to agree to a contract extension by the Monday 4:00 PM ET deadline set by the league.

For the second straight season, Bell will suit up for the Steelers while playing on the franchise tag, and is due to make $14.5 million in 2018 before becoming an unrestricted free agent following the conclusion of this season. It is unlikely Bell will appear at training camp, as he is favored to repeat his actions from 2017 and show up for team activities one week before the regular season kicks off.

The failure to reach a new deal comes as a little surprise to those closely following the situation. Despite reports of optimism throughout the entirety of the two-year battle, Bell and his camp remained adamant they were not going to budge unless GM Kevin Colbert and the Steelers front office revamped their price-tag. Pittsburgh, hesitant to meet Bell’s demands given numerous factors including positional value, health and off the field history, stayed quite determined themselves not to budge on their end of the bargaining table.

With two years of failed negotiations under his belt, Bell is all but set to play his last season in Pittsburgh. Becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2019, Bell will find himself to be one of the biggest players to hit the open market in the last ten years. The Steelers, likely preparing for Bell’s departure at some point in time, favor their young backfield of James Conner and Jaylen Samuels, both acquired in the last two draft classes.

Despite both sides not able to come to terms on a new deal, the goal remains the same for the upcoming season: Super Bowl champions. The Steelers, still one of the favorites to emerge out of the AFC, will look to utilize Bell much like they did in 2017 in route to another successful season (406 touches, 1946 total yards, 11 touchdowns).

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Should Pittsburgh prove themselves able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in 2018, both Bell and the Steelers will be able to count 2018 as a success before they split and go their separate ways.