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Expectation For Le'Veon Bell Workload Week 8? (1 Viewer)

Assuming Le'Veon Bell is ready to go Week 8, what's your expectation for how PIT spreads RB carries

  • Almost exclusively Bell

    Votes: 9 17.3%
  • 75% Bell

    Votes: 14 26.9%
  • 50% Bell

    Votes: 22 42.3%
  • 25% Bell

    Votes: 7 13.5%

  • Total voters
    52

Joe Bryant

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Staff member
Assuming Le'Veon Bell is ready to go Week 8, what's your expectation for how PIT spreads RB carries for Week 8?

 
I think PIT needs him and they do not have the luxury to wait if he is ready (currently 1-1-1).  The division could get away from them pretty quickly.

I voted 75% assuming he is in good condition, which is a big assumption.  Even then, it will take some time to be in football shape so I dont think he will get all the work first week back.

 
Thanks. Can you elaborate with more detail and why?
I guess the main thing is I don't expect him to suit up in week 8, even if he does show.  There's more to this story about him coming back during the bye, and we just don't know it yet.  Earl Thomas goes down for the year, then Bell decides to end his holdout?  Trade deadline looms?  PIT wants to trade him, and a few teams may be interested?  There has to be some secret phone calls going on.  I don't believe in coincidences, and we have a whole lot of coincidental information circling in just a matter of a few days.

The Bell situation was pretty silent for the first 4 weeks.  Unless I see Bell himself on ESPN saying he is gonna come back and try to show his skills for a deal next year, I just don't see him suiting up anytime soon.

 
The other thing is PIT has two weeks to activate him once he signs. So it's conceivable that if they wanted to they could keep him inactive for two weeks. Also, not sure if those two weeks would be paid or unpaid.

 
I think a lot depends on how the Steelers do over the next few weeks. I personally wouldn’t be in any hurry to get him back into the lineup. What kind of message does that send?

If it’s possible I would deal him for almost anything if they have no intention of signing the player. And if he does come back, by the time he is in football shape he will be of no use to the Steelers anyway.

 
I guess the main thing is I don't expect him to suit up in week 8, even if he does show.  There's more to this story about him coming back during the bye, and we just don't know it yet.  Earl Thomas goes down for the year, then Bell decides to end his holdout?  Trade deadline looms?  PIT wants to trade him, and a few teams may be interested?  There has to be some secret phone calls going on.  I don't believe in coincidences, and we have a whole lot of coincidental information circling in just a matter of a few days.

The Bell situation was pretty silent for the first 4 weeks.  Unless I see Bell himself on ESPN saying he is gonna come back and try to show his skills for a deal next year, I just don't see him suiting up anytime soon.
Thanks. 

 
It's not worth projecting for me because I don't think he's a Steeler by the trade deadline.  You guys can keep me honest here but I don't recall a case where a team explicitly said they were shopping a player and he didn't end up being traded. Otherwise, it causes nothing but animosity when teams are public about it before it happens. So when it's public, the player is as good as gone. 

The best they'll get is a 3rd in two years (2020 draft) for letting him leave after this season. That's equal to a 4th in 2019 draft.  Someone will give AT LEAST a 2nd in the 2019 draft, which is a lot more draft capital. Another team might even give a player plus a 2nd.

In order to maintain locker room accountability and to avoid lingering distractions (or the possibility Bell stops playing after the regular season since he's not getting paid for the playoffs), I think he's gone for as much as they can get by the deadline.

With the news that Bell will report in two weeks - Conner might be the cheapest right now that he will be all year  - and is an all-in trade target for me this week.

 
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I suspect he starts week 8, and we get the story about a pitch count or something to that effect.  

Then Conner isn't quite as effective early and Bell ends up with ~15-20 touches to 4-5 for Conner

 
The responses here are more anti-Bell than I thought, which confirms to me that there are some smart people around these parts.

There's a non-zero chance that Bell's fantasy football value is at or near its ceiling. The story about Bell reporting during the bye week does not guarantee any of the following:

  • that Bell reports during the bye
  • that Bell has a clear path to volume if he reports
  • that Bell doesn't suffer an injury as a result of being in less than "football shape"
  • that Bell plays through such an injury
  • that the team is even good enough to support an RB1
So while the story provides hope to most of those fantasy GMs that have hung on, it's also still a reminder that nothing is definite.

There could be rare instances where those rostering Bell have wanted to move him but couldn't find a suitor because there was no clarity. This report adds clarity, which could yield offers.

If I'm 0-4 or 1-3 (which is likely for a team that picked Bell at 1.01 or 1.02), I'm looking to move him now. At his best, Bell is a dollar bill, but I'd take a few quarters and a dime for him now. Desperation should drive action.

 
Depends 100% on the state of James Conner (and on if Lev's traded). If Conner rebounds and is killing it like weeks 1 and 2, then it could be close to 50/50, or even in favor of Conner if Bell is rusty. But if Conner maintains 60 yards per game for the next 2 games, Bell could get a higher workload. 

 
Someone will give AT LEAST a 2nd in the 2019 draft ... Another team might even give a player plus a 2nd.
Maybe some team does exactly this, but that's a lot to pay for a rental. This is what the Steelers say they want, but something tells me they might have to take less.

 
I'd be shocked if Bell plays again in a Steelers uniform personally. After all that stuff w/ his teammates coming out publicly to bash him, I'm really not sure how he can return to the locker room and act like nothing happened. I've legitimately never seen something like that before, usually players stick together. Even if they are annoyed the word to the press is always:

It sucks not having him out there, but it's a business man and he's gotta deal with his business in the way he sees fit.
So that's #1. Only way he suits up for the Steelers in my eyes is if they bite the bullet and pay him, which is doubtful.

If he does somehow show up after the bye though... I'd say he's like a 50% split w/ Connor. He can be in as much shape as he wants ,everyone knows football shape and conditioning shape are two totally different things. Having the bye week will help, but I'd guess he would be on a semi-snap count going into that game.

 
Bell still holds power here, and that is why the Steelers most likely trade him.    He shows up, week 7, starts getting paid 985 k, then what?     All of a sudden he is screaming get me 30 touches a game like in the past?     No way.

He reports, gets paid, has every inclination to feign injury and keep himself  healthy for his next destination or forced free agency.    

Plus I don't see the Steelers giving in.....their ownership is all about loyalty, and bell is exuding none in their eyes.    This is an organization that told Ben to stop being a pig or else.    Ben shaped up.

The Steelers can tag him one more year, no?     Either way, I think if he comes back, he won't be 100% committed, nor will pittsburgh.

 
He will be a full 100% Lev Bell workload. Why on Earth wouldn't he be?

Conner's backup will be plodding along at 35 yds/game by then and it will be obvious (for those who have not seen it already).

 
He will be a full 100% Lev Bell workload. Why on Earth wouldn't he be?
A shorter hold out last years saw him get 13 touches week 1.

Fitness.

Rust.

Trust (lack of).

They are trying to trade him.

Really the list of why-wouldn't-he's is substantial.

 
Best case scenario is that PIT is 3-2-1 week 8

I bet they give him a full workload because they're no lock for the playoffs with their record

 
A shorter hold out last years saw him get 13 touches week 1.

Fitness.

Rust.

Trust (lack of).

They are trying to trade him.

Really the list of why-wouldn't-he's is substantial.
I believe that Sunday night's game was a trigger. The Steelers now fully realize that this season is a throw-away without Bell. And I'm sure the stars on that offense are making it clear internally. Bell also now realizes that nobody is trading for him... nobody is going to build a team around him... and his best interest is to find a way to be a Steeler for life.

Look, both sides of this need each other. Pride ****ed things up, and now both will be beating crow as fast as possible to resolve this.

Why the sudden report date? I think this gives Bell a clear target to work towards. He'll come in and they will need to ride him hard.

Conner was a nice story for a week (or two), but he's a back-up. Period.

 
If he's still with the Steelers he'll be the... Bell cow.

So much crow on both sides will need to be crammed down, though, and the NFL doesn't seem to be populated by humble folks who can consistently do so.

EDIT: Voted "exclusively Bell" but that would depend entirely on his football readiness. If he's good to go, he's getting fed.

 
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He will be a full 100% Lev Bell workload. Why on Earth wouldn't he be?

Conner's backup will be plodding along at 35 yds/game by then and it will be obvious (for those who have not seen it already).
Because Bell will probably be out of shape and not near game fitness.

 
Because Bell will probably be out of shape and not near game fitness.
That's why they settled on week 7-8 whatever it was. Now there's a goal... something to work towards.

Fresh legs >>>> "game shape" IMO

 

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