Bell skips Day 1 of Steelers practice

andyinsc wrote:

Hey everyone
I don't really post on here but read the site daily.  Here is my take (somewhat unconventional) on the Bell situation...I am done with him and have been done with him for a year. However, he is an asset that can help the team on the field or through the draft. I expect him to sit out 10 games this year. The team can also apply for a two week exemption so a total of 12 weeks of game checks can be saved which is roughly $10,000,000. I think the Steelers should tag Bell again next year but with the transition tag or unexclusive tag (whichever one allows him to negotiate with other teams) If he leaves the team then we get two first rounders. If he doesn't then he would almost surely sign the tag because the number would be $20.9 million. This is more than he was wanting however with the 10 mil the team saves this year it really only costs the team 11 mil which is less than he would make this year. Win-win either way. If he sits out again next year giving up more than $1 million per week then that is his own idiocy.  
Also, it drives me nuts to hear the talking heads in the media talk about why play on the franchise tag and risk future earnings.  They make it sound as though Pittsburgh never tried to work out a long term deal.  The true comparison is not $14 million this year versus a $70 million contract.  He was offered (supposedly) a long term deal worth $14 million per year.  If he wants $17 million per year then it is only a difference of $3 million per year.  By the time he ends his hold out and reports back to camp he will have lost almost the entire difference of the 14 to 17 per year of the contract.  The hold out doesn't solve any problem financially for him and it almost guarantees that he will be playing in the future for a lesser team.  Just not logical to me.

If you read all of this, I owe you, thank you for listening to me ramble.

I'm glad you decided to post. I hope you continue to do so.

If Dan Rooney was still alive and in charge, I'd have no doubt this would be Bell's last year with the Steelers. But Art does things differently, so I think it's tough to predict with absolute certainty what happens next year. I'd be surprised though if Bell stays under any scenario. The bridge is likely already in flames.

Some of us thought they should have used the non-exclusive tag this year. But from things I've read, it's quite possible the Steelers were quite confident a deal would get done. My suspicion is that Bell wasn't honest with them and gave them a false sense of certainty. We now know he lied to his teammates, so it's not a stretch to think he also lied to the front office.

Anything is possible, but where things stand right now, I just don't see a future with Bell in Pittsburgh.

I thought this was kind of funny....leave it to a Browns fan to think they proved something with a tie. This is from Paul Zeise's Q&A column at Pitt Post Gazette:

Sheryl Rivelo, Cleveland: You called the Browns incompetent. What does that make the Steelers, who just were tied by the Browns? I hope you Steelers fans have fun getting used to life without Le’Veon Bell because it won’t be pretty. And how many years does Ben Roethlisberger have left in him? Who is next when he retires, Josh Dobbs? The Browns are on the rise.

Zeise: Wait, you are puffing your chest out about the Browns performance Sunday? You have to be kidding me. You should be embarrassed, because this was the most “Browns” non-win ever. The Steelers handed them six turnovers and missed a field goal in overtime, and the Browns still couldn’t get it done. That makes them 1-31-1 in their last 33 games. The Steelers were atrocious and handed the Browns a win and the Browns were too INCOMPETENT to grab it. My favorite stat of the day: Since 1999, this was the fifth time in 137 games where a team was plus-5 in turnovers and failed to win. The Browns are responsible for three of those. Enjoy your 3-12-1 season.

Quote :

Enjoy your 3-12-1 season.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2018/09/12/james-conner-leveon-bell-steelers-rb-depth-chart-ben-roethlisberger/stories/201809120118

MJD: Le’Veon Bell was disappointed Steelers teammates discussed his contract

One of the common axioms among professional athletes is that you don’t mess with another player’s contract situation. Some members of the Pittsburgh Steelers violated that often unspoken rule last week, which apparently disappointed Le’Veon Bell.

Appearing on the “Dave Dameshek Football Podcast” this week, former running back-turned-analyst Maurice Jones-Drew said he spoke with Bell, who shared that he was disappointed by what his teammates did.

“[Bell] said to me ‘people think that I don’t like Pittsburgh, I don’t like James Conner, I don’t like these guys,'” Jones-Drew said, as transcribed by NFL.com. “He was like yes, I was disappointed they went out and spoke about my contract, understandably so. He was like, but I still want them to do well, they’re still guys that I work with and guys that I’ve put in this extra work with — blood, sweat and tears like I still want them to do well.”

http://larrybrownsports.com/football/mjd-leveon-bell-disappointed-steelers-teammates-contract/463760

Wallace108 wrote:

MJD: Le’Veon Bell was disappointed Steelers teammates discussed his contract

One of the common axioms among professional athletes is that you don’t mess with another player’s contract situation. Some members of the Pittsburgh Steelers violated that often unspoken rule last week, which apparently disappointed Le’Veon Bell.

Appearing on the “Dave Dameshek Football Podcast” this week, former running back-turned-analyst Maurice Jones-Drew said he spoke with Bell, who shared that he was disappointed by what his teammates did.

“[Bell] said to me ‘people think that I don’t like Pittsburgh, I don’t like James Conner, I don’t like these guys,'” Jones-Drew said, as transcribed by NFL.com. “He was like yes, I was disappointed they went out and spoke about my contract, understandably so. He was like, but I still want them to do well, they’re still guys that I use to work with and guys that I’ve put in this extra work with — blood, sweat and tears like I still want them to do well.”

http://larrybrownsports.com/football/mjd-leveon-bell-disappointed-steelers-teammates-contract/463760

Fixed it for you.

Are the Steelers actually better WITHOUT Le’Veon Bell? pic.twitter.com/p98FbtyGMx

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 14, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

Are the Steelers actually better WITHOUT Le’Veon Bell?  pic.twitter.com/p98FbtyGMx

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 14, 2018

Yes. Yes they are. Better without and absolutely Better Off without.

It's just after noon, and there's no sign of RB Le'Veon Bell at Steelers' headquarters. So he's off their depth chart, he's not at Steelers' complex and he's out for Sunday vs. KC.

Bell's lost revenue is now over $1.7 million for missing this season's first two games.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

It's just after noon, and there's no sign of RB Le'Veon Bell at Steelers' headquarters. So he's off their depth chart, he's not at Steelers' complex and he's out for Sunday vs. KC.

Bell's lost revenue is now over $1.7 million for missing this season's first two games.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2018

I don't get the thinking here. If he sits out as long as he can he'll lose $10 million. On a hypothetical 4 year contract with his new team next year he'd need $2.5 per year to make that $10 million up plus the $2 million per year the Steelers were short of hs demands. So, he's need around $5 million more per year than Steelers offered.

I guess maybe he's willing to lose the money this year with the idea he gets a 80 million 4 year contract with a new team next year. But you'd have to think there aren't many teams out there willing to approach $20 million per year for a RB with high mileage that will turn 28 a couple months after his first season with them

Antonio Brown's truancy is loudest, but could be least of Steelers' problems

September 18, 2018

Mike Tomlin took care of addressing the least important people first: us.

By "us," I could mean the media, the Steelers fan base or the public in general, including those who do not care whether superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown’s absence from work Monday had been prearranged and excused.

Later Tuesday, Tomlin promised, he would be speaking to Brown himself.

"I'm looking forward to visiting with him today and discussing that, and some other things," the Steelers coach said at his weekly news conference. “I’m not going to get into the details of why he wasn't here, and whether he was excused, and all of those things. I'd just as soon leave those things in house."

The context of that answer suggests he allowed at least a little of the dirt to slip through the screen door, because there would be no reason for Tomlin to discuss an excused absence with one of his most prominent employees.

Yep, it's pretty obvious AB went AWOL.

to read rest of article:

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/pittsburgh-steelers-antonio-brown-practice-twitter-contract-culture/11ym7sc1utj771qez2ehrmbwlf

Leaderless team. Lousy coach and star players who bitch more than they come through when it matters. That's the bottom line.

OX1947 wrote:

Leaderless team. Lousy coach and star players who bitch more than they come through when it matters. That's the bottom line.

I won't go so far as to call Tomlin lousy ......yet. The rest I agree with. Especially the leaderless team.

Steelers now listening to trade offers for RB Le’Veon Bell, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

Steelers now listening to trade offers for RB Le’Veon Bell, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2018

Good. I hope we get more than a box of Cracker Jax for him.

I don't know how you trade a guy who isn't under contract.

He has to sign the tender before game 10, or game 8 if the Steelers use something called the Commissioner's exception (I don't know anything about this, I'm just repeating it). If he doesn't sign the tender, the Steelers retain his rights for another year and we do this all over again.

I imagine they are looking at a sign and trade type deal for Bell to play out what is left of the year. The relationship between Bell and the Steelers must be that bad.

I'd welcome a trade. He obviously does not want to be part of the team, be a team player, help win a super bowl. I'd love to get a 1 and 1 for him, do you think Buffalo will bite?

Let's hope he signs the tender and someone is crazy enough to trade for him. So we're clear, we want the cracker jax with the prize inside. And 2 #1s.

Seriously I know he'd have to sign the Tag before anything can happen. I doubt anything happens. I think he shows up week 10 and leaves as a FA next year. In 2019 we get a 3rd round pick for him.

Sucks but I believe this is the likely scenario. Again why did we not put the non-exclusive on him. I think they made a huge mistake by not doing that. Bottom line is the FO tried to be reasonable with an unreasonable player.

From @gmfb: The #Steelers have received a few inquiries from teams looking to trade for franchised RB Le’Veon Bell, and they have not shot those down as they once did. A trade would be very complicated, but not impossible. Expect this to heat up as the trade deadline gets closer. pic.twitter.com/swL8Qh5uBO

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 24, 2018

We want the best LB from that team and a 1st rounder for next year...CYA BELL!!

Trade him to Cleveland for Miles Garret. I could wish. Guy's going to be stealing our lunch money for a while.

solardave wrote:

Trade him to Cleveland for Miles Garret. I could wish. Guy's going to be stealing our lunch money for a while.

And Jabrill Peppers

Right Solar - that would be great! I'd take that trade in a heartbeat.

Report: Jets contact Steelers about Bell trade

The New York Jets have contacted the Pittsburgh Steelers to express interest in trading for running back Le'Veon Bell, sources told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

The Jets haven't yet submitted a concrete offer, according to the report, but are convinced the Steelers are finally willing to part with their disgruntled star.

https://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1610142

Listening to the pregame show. They are talking the return on Bell being a 3rd or 2nd because lots of reasons in a 20 minute segment. Biggest one is Bell isn't guaranteed to be anymore then a rental that may not give 100%, as not to get injured.