Do you belive the steeles are shopping bell?

[Phaded]

WF has listed five teams that make sense for Bell as the Jets, Texans, Colts, Bills & Bucs.

The Bucs would be really interesting and that offense could become scary..

[slaughterrt]

The Jets certainly believe the Steelers are shopping him.

[Servo]

The Bucs would be really interesting and that offense could become scary..

If so then blast all Barber + Rojo shares into the sun for infinity LOL

[ebsteelers]

could a sign and trade done be done kind of like the nba? so bell gets his deal, the new team gets an extension, and the steelers get something.

the gentlemen agreement to sign him long term seems sketchy if I were him... cause at the end of the day if something happened the last part of the season the team will come back and say sorry its just business

[flyersfan1981]

could a sign and trade done be done kind of like the nba? so bell gets his deal, the new team gets an extension, and the steelers get something.

the gentlemen agreement to sign him long term seems sketchy if I were him... cause at the end of the day if something happened the last part of the season the team will come back and say sorry its just business

As I understand it, he can't actually sign any contract until the end of the season other than his franchise tag. Do I think the Steelers are shopping him? Hell yeah they are!! Do I think there is any chance he is moved? Unlikely because nobody will pay the Steelers what they would want, and then pay the franchise tag, and then have to overpay him once he is eligible to be signed officially.

Just seems like too many obstacles for a deal to make any sense...

[bjd5211]

could a sign and trade done be done kind of like the nba? so bell gets his deal, the new team gets an extension, and the steelers get something.

the gentlemen agreement to sign him long term seems sketchy if I were him... cause at the end of the day if something happened the last part of the season the team will come back and say sorry its just business

Nope, NFL and NBA have very different CBA's. Bell cannot sign any kind of long-term deal with anyone until the conclusion of the season. UNLESS the Steelers (or acquiring team in a trade) rescind the tag, in which case he immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign where ever he wants. The only contract available to him in season at this point is signing the tag.

[ninotoreS]

Are they listening to offers? They gotta be. Look, anything at all the Steelers can get for Bell now will (very likely) be 100% more than they get for him after this season is over, which will (very likely) be nothing. I can neither believe Bell wants to remain a Steeler, nor that the Steelers want to tag him again in '19. Seems to me too many bridges have been burned.

So while it's true a team is unlikely to shell out much for Bell considering he still has to play on the tag this year, they may not have to actually offer much to get him.

Question:

Can Bell be traded, sign the franchise tag with his new team, and THEN sign an extension? I know he has to sign the tag first before he can do anything else this year, but once he's done that, doesn't that allow a new contract to be signed for '19 and beyond?

[flyersfan1981]

Are they listening to offers? They gotta be. Look, anything at all the Steelers can get for Bell now will (very likely) be 100% more than they get for him after this season is over, which will (very likely) be nothing. I can neither believe Bell wants to remain a Steeler, nor that the Steelers want to tag him again in '19. Seems to me too many bridges have been burned.

So while it's true a team is unlikely to shell out much for Bell considering he still has to play on the tag this year, they may not have to actually offer much to get him.

But then why would the Steelers trade him? I mean they know he is going to come in Week 11 and play hard the last few weeks and into the playoffs because he will have to produce to get that big payday he wants...seems silly for the Steelers to trade him for a 3rd/4th when they can benefit from him being on the field as their window with Ben and Brown is closing....

[joeday]

Are they listening to offers? They gotta be. Look, anything at all the Steelers can get for Bell now will (very likely) be 100% more than they get for him after this season is over, which will (very likely) be nothing. I can neither believe Bell wants to remain a Steeler, nor that the Steelers want to tag him again in '19. Seems to me too many bridges have been burned.

So while it's true a team is unlikely to shell out much for Bell considering he still has to play on the tag this year, they may not have to actually offer much to get him.

But then why would the Steelers trade him? I mean they know he is going to come in Week 11 and play hard the last few weeks and into the playoffs because he will have to produce to get that big payday he wants...seems silly for the Steelers to trade him for a 3rd/4th when they can benefit from him being on the field as their window with Ben and Brown is closing....

I don't think this is an assumption I would make right now. Other teams don't need to see him play hard to know what he is and I don't think he is in any way thinking he is going to go all out to help the Steelers (nor should he IMO)

[ninotoreS]

I mean they know he is going to come in Week 11 and play hard the last few weeks and into the playoffs because he will have to produce to get that big payday he wants

Does he?

Every NFL team already knows Bell can produce. He doesn't have to prove anything.

How do you know there isn't already 'x' number of teams willing to pay Bell what he wants right now? We only know for sure the Steelers aren't one of them.

If the Steelers think Bell won't particularly enhance a playoff push (they do seem to get production from practically any RB they put in), there's not too much incentive to value what he can do for them starting Week 11. Bell has never helped them breakthrough in the post-season before, afterall.

But then why would the Steelers trade him?

So it goes back to my point. They can get something now, or they can get nothing but Week 11-16+ play, which they may not actually value that much if they think James Conner is an adequate next man up for their needs.

[flyersfan1981]

So you guys legitimately think he can just show up Week 11 and dog it for a few weeks, and still get paid what he wants? I have a hard time thinking there are a lot of GMs out there eager to spend big money on a guy who is "going thru the motions." He wants guaranteed money, we all know this...I just don't see it the same way I guess. I suppose I am putting myself in a GMs shoes and saying to myself "if this guy doesn't want to play hard making $900K per game, why would he play hard after I guarantee him $30 million?"

[mullmania]

^ I tend to agree on all levels. I get it from Bell's perspective but as a GM I would stay away.

This dude is kind of bleep the team he currently plays for. That wouldn't sit well with me as a GM.

[Lotto4Life]

Somebody previously mentioned the Steelers getting a compensatory pick if they hold him and he signs elsewhere. If that's accurate, there's the value in holding him.

[bjd5211]

Somebody previously mentioned the Steelers getting a compensatory pick if they hold him and he signs elsewhere. If that's accurate, there's the value in holding him.

There is, but they are based upon playing time, so obviously missing 10 games is going to most likely knock him down to the lower levels of compensatory picks. The highest picks are at the end of the 3rd round, but he'll likely result in a 5th or 6th round pick now. With all the risks involved for the team that trades for him (the $10+ million they'll have to pay this year which a lot of teams can't fit under the cap at this stage, and the risk of not being able to sign him after the season) the most I could see a team being willing to offer is a 3rd round pick, which is obviously a lot less than he's worth but that's just how trades work in the NFL. The Steelers just don't hold a lot of leverage over their limited number of trade partners, they'll have to just be happy to get SOMETHING for him or hope for a bidding war between two prospective trade partners. Quite frankly I will be very surprised if they do end up trading him, just so many complications that significantly affect his trade value.

[flyersfan1981]

^ I tend to agree on all levels. I get it from Bell's perspective but as a GM I would stay away.

This dude is kind of bleep the team he currently plays for. That wouldn't sit well with me as a GM.

I do understand it from Bell's perspective, I really do. I mean it is a little offensive that the guy can make $900K/week and it isn't enough, but I do understand that he knows they will run him into the ground and discard him. I get it from his end, I really do! But that said, if I were him and sat out till Week 11, I would be playing my tail off for two reasons. One, I want to remind with every touch what Pittsburgh WON'T HAVE next season. And two, I want to let the other 31 GMs know that I am ready to compete.