Pittsburgh Steelers: What is acceptable compensation for Le’Veon Bell?

So… What’s The Proper Compensation For Bell?

Unless a great defensive player can be thrown into the mix, the trade will likely only involve draft picks. Pittsburgh won’t seek return for help at the running back position with the emergence of James Conner, and will likely want to either get some immediate help on the defensive side of the ball, or look to future drafts to help better-build the team.

To aid in determining what the right value for Bell is, we can look at past trades to help build a base-line. Martavis Bryant was dealt for a third round pick. Bell’s talent and market worth far exceeds that of Bryant’s, thus putting the Steelers in the ball park for a really high pick.

However, what can hurt the Steelers in this trade is the lack of emphasis on the running back position league-wide. The league as a whole just doesn’t value the position with today’s pass-friendly game, as running backs are easily replaceable and are considered to have the shortest life-span out of all the positions, with majority of the backs’ production dipping after age 30.

A first round pick and then some would be ideal here. Yet due to the position and Bell’s background/age, I’m not too sure if the Steelers will be able to get that kind of return. Luckily for Pittsburgh, they’re not hard-pressed about getting Le’Veon out-of-town. They were perfectly content with him waiting, as the forfeited salary will roll into the Steelers salary cap moving forward to next year. This gives the organization the opportunity to not panic and wait for the right offer, as the trade deadline is still five weeks away.

In the end, I think Pittsburgh will walk away with something along the lines of multiple picks, the base being a second round pick.