NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The only rumor I've heard that seems feasible is a trade with the 49ers where the Steelers would be receiving a pair of picks including a second round pick in 2019 (which would ultimately be a high second now that Jimmy G is done for the year).

Jerick McKinnon's contract is structured so that San Francisco could dump him this off-season and take a $0 cap hit. They could trade him or cut him before June 1st without taking on any additional cap cash. The likely scenario would be to trade him and recoup what would be a 2020 pick in the same range as the additional one that Pittsburgh would get, likely a mid to high 4th, making the trade for Bell essentially one 2019 second round pick.

The 49ers have enough cap cash to pay Bell in the $15mil a season range with a lot of guaranteed cash and they showed a willingness to pay big bucks for a back with the deal they gave to McKinnon.

 

Steelers hold all the cards here. If Bell doesn't report by mid November he basically voids his franchise tag...can't play this season...and the Steelers could tag him again for next season if they want to.

So unless someone makes them an offer they can't refuse...they don't have to make a desperate trade at all.

 

it said a 2nd or 3rd rounder would do it. if im philly - where do i sign ? rumor was jets offered a 7th rounder. that's insulting. not even a fantasy owner would take that crap!

 

I agree, no way in hell do the Steelers only get a 7th for Bell. I personally don't think a deal gets done, mostly because of Bell. Depends on which team makes the offer I guess. I mean if the Bills make an offer, Bell just sits out without signing. Highly doubt the Steelers will exercise their right to franchise him again. If they do, then they are being petty and tying up $14 million again which would be idiotic, so he'll be a free agent whether he reports at all this year or not.

 

Arizona Cardinal's Sam Bradford was limited to holding one hand on a clipboard and the other holding the ice on his LBI (butthurt)
Cleveland Browns Tyrod Taylor is out with a UBI, crying games.
Oakland Raider news. Well this might not be true, but right tackle Donald Penn is roommates with Everson Griffen. At least he thinks so. Out for weeks/length of guaranteed contract.
In unrelated NFL news...
Bill Cosby was given his own cell. Weird Harold, Fat Albert and others were devastated.
In local news, I still need to finish trimming my hedge.

 

I'm not sure how the Steelers hold all the cards. They can't trade him until he signs the tag and he can hold out until the trade deadline passes.

Considering his goal is to remain as healthy as possible I just don't what would incentivize him to sign that tag until Week 11.

p.s. I can't see a scenario where the Steelers would tag him again. He could sit out the entire season if he wants to.

 

Not only that, the team trading for him can't negotiate a contract until the season is over, that deadline has passed. So this is a lot riskier than some of you are making it out to be. The Steelers, unless they are looking to tag him again and try to work a trade out sooner next year, would be lucky to get what ever they want out of him.... If they find a trade partner he is willing to play the second half of the year for... As @beachbum already stated, they can't trade him until he signs on the dotted line.

A player that holds out this long makes a messy situation. It won't be easy to find trade compensation and I can guarantee no team is giving the Steelers a 2nd round draft pick for a guy they might only have for about 6 games.... Which could be the only guarantee the trading team has for him.

The Steelers don't hold all the cards, that's a fact. Le'Veon is the only one that can decide whether or not to right his name on a piece of paper and when, if at all.

Hell, he may have already decided to sit, healthy, until the next opportunity for negotiation comes around.

 

I didn't say it was easy....but the Steelers are in control here. Bell is in danger of forfeiting his chance to hit free agency in the offseason. The onus is on him and no one else. He would sign if he were traded because any team that trades for him is gonna likely be given a window to sign him long term, kinda like what the Bears did with Khalil Mack.

But the Steelers don't have to do anything. They can sit on their hands. If Bell comes back...the Steelers win. If he signs his deal and gets traded...the Steelers win because they will get compensation for a player that has proven he doesn't care about the team anyway. If Bell does nothing...the Steelers win. They pay Bell nothing this year and still own the rights to him next season because they could still franchise him...and then still trade him.

Bell only wins for himself by signing his tag. And he's only hurting himself by sitting out.

No, that isn't a fact. That's an opinion.

And if Le'Veon doesn't sign...Le'Veon doesn't get paid. Meanwhile the Steelers save money and are putting a back out there every week in James Conner that while he may not be a talent on Bell's level....he's shown he can play well enough to help the Steelers win games.

 

Any team that wants to trade for him, I'd be very willing to guess, would be given a window to negotiate once a deal is generally agreed upon.

That would just make sense.

I don't see a scenario where they would tag him again either but if he were to sit out this entire season they would be able to tag him at this year's salary instead of next years...which would be a big difference in pay I'm guessing. And if he sat out a second season....he's only fucking himself.

 

These are definately uncharted waters.

I'm far from being an expert in NFL contracts, but . . . How does a team (any team) come up with a generally agreed upon contract without violating numerous rules that are in place regarding "Player Tampering"? Especially in a high visibilty player such as LeVeon Bell.

To me . . . It looks like a classic "Catch 22". Pittsburgh can't trade him because he's not under contract and teams can't negotiate a contract with him to facilitate a trade.

 

The Bears agreed to a contract with Khalil Mack after being granted a window to negotiate with his agent. And when a deal was agreed upon the trade was finalized.

Pittsburgh can trade him. They just need a little cooperation from him. He wants to get paid. I don't think he is going to say no if there is another team out there that is willing to give him a deal.

 

The contract negotiation window closed on July 16th. After that date, the only contract Bell can play under is the Franchise tag, if he signs it. Then, after the season, one of two things happen, the team that has him when he signs the tag must tag him again, sign him to an extension, or he hits free agency. A second tag would be close to $21M, if I'm not mistaken. No team can sign him to a new deal until after this season.

Yes, they can sit on their hands, but the prorated portion of his tag also sits in their salary cap until he is either traded or they rescind it.

So, if he comes back, do they really win? He doesn't seem too welcome in that locker room and the team, including his teammates, have seemed to already move on to James Connor. Doesn't that upset the locker room when/if he returns?

If he signs his deal because the find a trade partner, then I agree, they win, because they got something out of nothing. This is the one scenario that they would win.

If Bell does Nothing, see Steelers sitting on their hands above...It isn't a win, if the prorated amount of salary cap doesn't allow you fluidity with the roster.

Probably the BEST case scenario would be if Bell decided to sit out the whole season..As you said, they would have exclusive rights to negotiate a deal, even if that is a sign and trade deal. If they can't get that done, they can issue the tag again, for essentially the same amount is was this year, then allow other teams to negotiate a deal with Bell and his agent, all they have to do is have him sign the tag and the trade would go into effect at that time.

Make no mistake here though, Bell is in control of this situation, not the Steelers. He essentially has a no trade clause in effect right now. He doesn't have to sign anything without a negotiated "rest of the season" deal in place. He could even hold out signing a deal the Steelers have for a trade, that guarantees him the full amount of the tag instead of the prorated amount. Hell, he could demand $18M on the tag before he signs it...even if there is only 8 games left in the year.

It isn't opinion, if the Steelers held all the cards, then Bell wouldn't have any choices. I don't think you understand the meaning of holding all the cards....

 

Mack was under contract, not the franchise tag. He was playing under his rookie 5th year option..Anyone under contract can renegotiate that contract at any time as long as the team holding the contract agrees to it as well.

So, because they need his cooperation, HE holds the cards... And you just need to understand the rules of tagging a player. The window to negotiate a deal is closed, if the Steelers trade him, that window remains closed to the new team.

 

I understand that. Except Khalil Mack was under contract, could be traded and the Bears and Raiders entered trade discussions knowing that.

 

It is pretty cut and dry. Any team that trades for Bell, does so with no guarantee for the future. The only thing they know is that if the trade is made, that means Bell has signed his franchise tag and would then be required to report for work. The only thing they would gain, besides the remaining games, is exclusive negotiating power for a new contract prior to the opening of the 2019 free agency period.

That is why no team is going to pay a 2nd round draft pick for a player that is only guaranteed to give them 13 games in 2018, and that number gets smaller every week.

 

Are you sure that July 15 deadline goes with him in a trade? The CBA doesn't address it that I can see, it only says the deadline applies to the "Prior Club." Seems like it's possible if the franchised player was traded it would create an opportunity for the acquiring team to do a new contract.

 

What cards does he hold?

He can't demand to be paid more. He can't demand a trade. He can't get paid unless he shows up.

I was mistaken on the tag rules....but Bell is still left holding nothing but the option to sit at home and make zero dollars or show up and make money.

The Steelers, at the very least, are likely to get a 3rd round compensation pick if Bell leaves the team via free agency. So...if they were to trade him...they aren't going to trade him for anything less than that.

 

The stipulation stays. I was under the impression it didn't.

 

Look, no one holds ALL the cards.. But he decides everything from this point on, until the final decision to hold out the entire season comes. After that, then the ball will be back in the Steelers court whether they want to go through this all again, I'm sure with the end game being a trade this time.

Right now, unless they come to him with a trade partner that he is so excited to play for that he decides not to forgo the waiting game until after week 10, Every week he decides to stay silent, they lose negotiating power with a team as well. Now it's 13 games, really 12 as even if they signed and traded today, he wouldn't be ready to play Sunday. Every week, their stance gets weaker and the compensation gets lower.

Actually, he can... The Franchise tag is set at a minimum, the team and player can agree to a larger amount. Right now, he is losing 1/17th of that tag every game that goes in the books. He however, can demand the full amount, or even more, in order to agree to sign the tag...Or he can simply sign it at any time and show up to the facility.

Right now, Bell is in charge. The Steelers can negotiate 15 deals, but unless Bell and his agent are in agreement, he doesn't have to sign anything...

That's true he doesn't get paid, that is his choice.

In the meantime, his salary is still counting against the cap.

I agree in theory that this should be the case..However, you are determining before the 2019 free agency even starts that you are not going to make any other moves that could negate that 3rd round pick.

If they absolutely have their 2019 off season planned out, this could very well be the case...however, if they see they are going to have extra money next off season, it could be very different as well.

They would need to not sign anyone with the money set aside for Bell, in order to get the compensation...or they could use it to extend current players and still keep the 3rd round compensatory.

But, nothing is certain.

What is certain, no other club gives a shit about the Steelers 3rd round comp pick...not any of the 31 other teams. What they will determine is what a partial season of Le'Veon Bell is worth, IF he is in shape to play right away.

The Steelers could have multiple scenarios play out...

They could get Bell back and he still get them 1300 yards and 15 TDs
They could get Bell back and he disrupt the entire locker room, especially considering the exchanges already made public
They could get a team to give them a 1st round draft pick.....or a team give them a 7th round draft pick, for a part time contract of Bell
They could wait the entire year out, have a sign and trade available to another team...or re-sign him to the transition tag, then work out a trade, or simply move on with their lives, at which point, if they move on...they could get a comp pick somewhere between 3rd-7th round...or none at all, depending on what else they do during free agency.

That's the complication of this deal, too many unknowns.

 

Now, at any time, if the Steelers feel the need to free up that cap space, they can rescind the tag and the cap space will be returned to them and Bell would immediately become a free agent, able to sign with any team...ironically, including the Steelers, I do believe. As long as the franchise tag is in place though, NO contract negotiations are allowed. If it is proven there were negotiations, it would be a violation of tampering rules.