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Pizza Bagels, Genius! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter steelers1080
- Start date
3C's
Footballguy
Cookiemonster
Footballguy
I can almost guarantee you that the reason the Bell contract wasn't completed was offset language regarding suspensions. There was something in there protecting the Steelers about drug suspensions and Bell wouldn't bite. His durability is always in question, but his status in the drug program is not. He is a risk and the Pitt brass is not going to invest heavily in a risk.
msommer
Footballguy
If that's the case then PIT is likely to be looking for a new RB next year (or pay Bell 15m).
msommer
Footballguy
His current contract is the franchise tag at 12m. If PIT tags him again next season that increases by 20%, to 14.5m
Seems so obvious to me that's the Steelers play. They're willing to pay him that much anyway, why not see how effective, clean, and healthy he remains one year at a time?
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
I can easily handle the 14.5 for one more year. They we were offering him north of 12 million a year for four years anyway.
Could probably eat the 17.4 transition tag after that too. Sure he gets paid , but we have a ton of outs along the way if something goes wrong.
Comes out to like 3/43.5 (14.5 a year) when he is 25-26-27 years of age.
Could probably eat the 17.4 transition tag after that too. Sure he gets paid , but we have a ton of outs along the way if something goes wrong.
Comes out to like 3/43.5 (14.5 a year) when he is 25-26-27 years of age.
msommer
Footballguy
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
If he wanted 40M guaranteed in order to sign, they would have been on the hook for nearly as much with a very similar annual cap hit, but without the ability to cut bait after any season.
msommer
Footballguy
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
I'm sure you do. I was just pointing out that it's a viable alternative for them to keep tagging him. It's not ideal, but it's also not a situation where if they can't find a mutually agreeable number next offseason, Bell is out the door.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
You may want to clear that with Touchdown_There.
I don't know what happened to him, but if he was still around, I'm sure he'd be leading the "Steelers can't afford Bell" bandwagon.
AhrnCityPahnder
Yinz-o-riffic
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
So what's the deal with bell....he gains nothing by holding out when does he report ??
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
He avoids camp and injury. In all honesty, the guy is sort of a clown. Wouldn't surprise me if he pulls a VJax and goes into the season to the point where he can still be a free agent next offseason. No one will give him the money he is demanding and if they do it's not a good organization. I'm hoping Conner shows something this preseason.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
If we would have signed Rex Burkhead like I wanted, we wouldn't be in such poor shape RB wise. 1 year/ $2.9M + $250,000 in possible bonuses is a steal
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
TJ WATT is named the starter at ROLB. 
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
He can hold out until week 8 and accrue a full season. Essentially saving himself for the next free agency. Once again, wouldn't surprise me. Everything Bell has done throughout his career has been selfish. I'm a big proponent of good contracts for players. The Steelers were more then generous with their offer. Wouldn't surprise me if Conner is more of an investment then anyone outside of the organization would have believed.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Connor is a cute story...i don't think he's an NFL back...and he isn't even near bell in talent...
I dont think he'll do that, but if he did, how is that selfish? Or, at least, any more selfish than what he Steelers are doing?
They slapped him with the franchise tag, because that was the smart financial thing for them to do, and is part of the agreement made with the players union. If Bell doesn't sign his contract (not "hold out," since he's not under contract) until week 8, then accrues a full year while limiting his potential for injury, that would be a smart financial thing for him to do, and is part of the agreement made with the NFL owners.
Agreed, but if he chose to do so, it'd be silly to call him selfish for using the parameters of the CBA to do what is in his best interests, while pretending the team doing the exact same thing is perfectly acceptable.
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
Why? They offered him what he wanted. More then any other back in the league by a long shot. I defend players contract demands all the time. In this case he's selfish.
How do you figure? If they had offered him what he wanted, he'd have accepted. Since he didn't, they didn't offer him what he wanted.
If he's being selfish because he's putting his own financial interests first, so are the Steelers. You can't have it both ways; you can't say the player can't look out for himself or be deemed selfish while at the same time, ignore the team looking out for their best interests.
AhrnCityPahnder
Yinz-o-riffic
You may be right. But, 2 years from now, assuming he stays healthy and matches his current "healthy workload" , he's going to have 1900+ career touches, which is more than Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice, or Darren Sproles ever reached in their careers. He will only be 27 but he started young and he will definitely have some miles on him at that point. I'm not saying he won't have a couple good (even great) years beyond that -- I'm sure he will , I'm just not sure it's a smart move with regards to the salary cap to sign him to a long term deal beyond that.
steelers1080
Footballguy
Bell will probably show up prior to the start of the season. Not sure why people are saying he's always been selfish, if anything he's tried to carry the team on his back. He got a ridiculous amount of touches in the second half of the season last year. I guess people could view his off the field screw-ups as selfish, but I view them as him being young and dumb. He hasn't had any issues since the car incident with Blount.
Also, he should go after as much money as he can get! NFL careers can be very short and can end at any time. With an injury history like his it's smart to try and get as big of a payday as he can because he might not get another chance. As a Steelers fan it sucks that he's not at camp yet, getting acclimated to the new offense and in tune with his teammates, but I don't begrudge him doing what he thinks he needs to in order to stay healthy and get paid.
That said, it's definitely not in the best interest for the Steelers for him to be missing camp time, so I hope he reports soon.
Also, Conner isn't Bell. He could be serviceable as a starter if Bell is out, but he won't be able to completely take over game after game.
Also, he should go after as much money as he can get! NFL careers can be very short and can end at any time. With an injury history like his it's smart to try and get as big of a payday as he can because he might not get another chance. As a Steelers fan it sucks that he's not at camp yet, getting acclimated to the new offense and in tune with his teammates, but I don't begrudge him doing what he thinks he needs to in order to stay healthy and get paid.
That said, it's definitely not in the best interest for the Steelers for him to be missing camp time, so I hope he reports soon.
Also, Conner isn't Bell. He could be serviceable as a starter if Bell is out, but he won't be able to completely take over game after game.
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
Listen, I have been a proponent of a great many players getting paid. I'm all for Bell getting paid. Fact of the matter is, this team made him an offer to make him the highest paid back in the league and for a good deal of the duration of the contract.
I consider him missing camp and rejection of the contract offered this offseason as selfish, absolutely. On top of that it was stupid on his part. If I was a betting man, I would bet against him making more on the open market. Given that he has been has had a penchant for injury and multiple incidents in the league, I'm honestly surprised the Steelers offered him what they did. It's one of the highest turnover positions in the league and with good reason.
I would actually have zero problem with him missing camp if the team just slapped the franchise tag on him and then expected that to be what he plays on this season. That's not what happened. This is a rare situation where I feel the team (any team) is generally in the right. They are though, imo. Freeman just signed for far less then Bell and is as much of a dual threat even if he is a slight step down talentwise.
I consider him missing camp and rejection of the contract offered this offseason as selfish, absolutely. On top of that it was stupid on his part. If I was a betting man, I would bet against him making more on the open market. Given that he has been has had a penchant for injury and multiple incidents in the league, I'm honestly surprised the Steelers offered him what they did. It's one of the highest turnover positions in the league and with good reason.
I would actually have zero problem with him missing camp if the team just slapped the franchise tag on him and then expected that to be what he plays on this season. That's not what happened. This is a rare situation where I feel the team (any team) is generally in the right. They are though, imo. Freeman just signed for far less then Bell and is as much of a dual threat even if he is a slight step down talentwise.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
Ryan Mathews deemed healthy and then promptly cut. Wouldn't mind the Steelers bringing him in for a look see.
Freeman is not even close to the caliber of dual-threat or workhorse that Bell is.
Again, it doesn't matter if you, I, the Steelers, or anyone else thinks it was a good/fair/great offer; Bell didn't, so he didn't sign it. That doesn't make him selfish. He thinks he is worth more, & he wants what he thinks he is worth. Since he's not under contract, he's skipping TC, and in theory, avoiding some injury risk. That's not selfish, that's smart.
Perhaps when you are saying selfish, you mean greedy? It seems like that's the argument you are making. I don't agree that he is being greedy, but I could see where you are coming from, if that is what you meant.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Coming to Pittsburgh with my ff buddy's for the Vikings game...i see there is a casino basically next door...anything else cool in the near stadium area??? And if you see some one in SAN DIEGO chargers gear that day it's probably me
steelers1080
Footballguy
pghrob
Footballguy
The Steelers and Bell are both looking at the contract situation strictly in business terms, both trying to maximize value and minimize risk. They simply failed to negotiate on the compromised contract that would have removed the need for them to settle him playing this year on the franchise tag amount.
When the time is right Bell will report for duty and he'll play his ### off. It won't be early enough for the Steelers because as a team they want to get as much practice in as possible. But it's all playing out exactly as the business rules are drawn up.
To his credit Bell has worked very hard during the offseason and continues to work out at this time as evidenced by his daily Snapchat workout videos.
So while coach Tomlin and the team might regret that he's not there in training camp with them right now , the reality is is that when it's all said and done everybody will be peachy keen happy.
When the time is right Bell will report for duty and he'll play his ### off. It won't be early enough for the Steelers because as a team they want to get as much practice in as possible. But it's all playing out exactly as the business rules are drawn up.
To his credit Bell has worked very hard during the offseason and continues to work out at this time as evidenced by his daily Snapchat workout videos.
So while coach Tomlin and the team might regret that he's not there in training camp with them right now , the reality is is that when it's all said and done everybody will be peachy keen happy.
AhrnCityPahnder
Yinz-o-riffic
Maybe, depending on your perspective. The real question is, though...
Grosser than Knile Davis? not by a long shot. Bring RM in as a camp body.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
I would not say gross. Limit his carries and he could thrive.
I have 0 faith in the backup RB that are on the roster today.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
steelers1080
Footballguy
I do think Mathews is more talented than Davis, but I also think that the chances of him being healthy whenever Bell goes down are slim.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
The Steelers hope to extend contract-year DE Stephon Tuitt before Week 1.
Owner Art Rooney II said so himself on Thursday.
Owner Art Rooney II said so himself on Thursday.
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
I don't know how the Steelers are going to handle their litany of WR's. Coates was listed as #3 on the depth chart this week. I know everyone thinks that ship has sailed but I would really hate to give up on a talent like that already so soon into his career. He is in the first percentile of yards per target at 19.4 through his career so far. If I had to guess I would say DHB is out but he's been a great gunner so someone else is going to have to shine there because that would be difficult to replace in its own right. I feel like Hunter is going to make this team as well. I suppose it's possible Smith-Schuster gets slipped onto IR somehow but I'm not sure they want to do that either.
Boone22
Footballguy
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin suggested Sammie Coates and Justin Hunter are competing for one roster spot.Bojang0301 said:
After Coates failed to come down with a pass in the end zone, Tomlin told the receiver Hunter would have made the catch. "You’ve got to start grabbing that," Tomlin continued. "It’s two dogs for one bone. I’m going to start applying pressure." A former third-round pick who can contribute on special teams, Coates is still the favorite, but he needs to show well over the next several weeks. Aug 17 - 11:00 AM
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
Ya, that's not what that means. He said the same thing to Wheaton and Brown when they were first coming up. Last I checked Wheaton never got cut, he just never lived up to what they wanted.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
That's exactly why I panned the Smith-Schuster pick in round 2 on draft day. Not because I didn't like the player as much as the roster logjam it would create.Bojang0301 said:
It sure seems like DHB has a roster spot due to his ST play, otherwise he's the guy I'd like to see cut. I think he offers by far the least long-term projection at WR of anyone they're considering for the 53 (not exactly going out on a limb there, I know.)
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
I don't know if "riches" is the word I'd choose, but they definitely have more guys than slots.bananafish said:
steelers1080
Footballguy
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/18/report-leveon-bell-rejected-july-offer-after-agent-agreed-to-terms/
Lol. Way to be on the same page. His agent and the Steelers agree to a deal, then Bell rips it up. Maybe be more involved or at least make sure your agent knows where you stand, then they could have negotiated with full knowledge of the situation and reached an agreement.
I think Bell has every right to try and get paid as much as he can, but at this point I'm kind of annoyed with him and want the Steelers to franchise him/spend as little as possible on his contract. Which was the point behind the team releasing all the info they have...
Lol. Way to be on the same page. His agent and the Steelers agree to a deal, then Bell rips it up. Maybe be more involved or at least make sure your agent knows where you stand, then they could have negotiated with full knowledge of the situation and reached an agreement.
I think Bell has every right to try and get paid as much as he can, but at this point I'm kind of annoyed with him and want the Steelers to franchise him/spend as little as possible on his contract. Which was the point behind the team releasing all the info they have...
That's an interesting way of interpreting it. Any deal has to be accepted by the player. An agent can say "I like it, I'll bring it to my client," but that doesn't make it a deal.
That being said, if Le'Veon wants to grt a contract to "bring value back" to the RB position, he should have been more involved on the negotiation. Doesn't make sense to expect them to offer the moon, if you don't tell them that you want the moon.
