Would the Steelers get a 3rd round compensatory pick next year if they keep him for this season? If they trade him they would lose that I think.
I’m done backing LVB. He can sod off. The Steelers were fair with him and he continues with this contentious attitude. When your teammates are down on you, you’re screwing up. Not too sure I’d trust LVB to go out and play his hardest now that things are the way they are. The Steelers should take whatever they can get out of him. But ... I do think the RB position in the NFL is the most fucked over though. Those dudes deserve more than the current scale is offering.
The biggest problem with RBs in general is that they are seriously exposed to injury much more than any other position just because of their ability to run people over. The smaller DBs always go for the knees. RBs don’t have a long shelf life and if you pay one very good, you probably would lose a lot of playing time due to injury.
From the article linked too below: "Team captain Maurkice Pouncey, one of Bell’s most trusted blockers, said it best. As he told Jim Wexell yesterday in the locker room, all he had to do was keep his teammates in the loop about what he was going to do and they would have understood. They might not have agreed, but that would have respected the decision. “Unless you want to come out and say as a man, ‘Hey I’m going to miss the first 10 weeks. It really sucks for my teammates but I have to do this. It’s a business decision.’ If you come out and say that, then you know what? As men in here we can all respect that”, Pouncey told 247Sports. “But to play hide and go seek, and no one knows what the hell’s going on, like, you can’t communicate? What the hell?”, he asked rhetorically. “We’re way older than that. There’s no point in not communicating it”." https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/communication-breakdown-all-steelers-wanted-from-bell-was-honesty/ Also a report from Ian over at espn that best guess from talking to many folks around the situation is he will show up Saturday (however, nobody knows and this sounds kinda like well as is being said - guesswork). https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/report-leveon-bell-now-expected-to-report-to-steelers-on-saturday/
I hope James Connor and company rips apart the Cleveland defense! Not easy. Can the Steelers rescind the tag? I know they won’t because of the fan base. Why not rescind the tag and drop ticket prices slightly! I don’t know the business, but I see the FO not paying $15million in salary making a point. I think fans might understand. On the other hand, I don’t know. Lol! Just thinking! JMac
Think of all the adversity Conner has overcome. He's got a personality, demeanor, character that is really easy to pull for. No LeVeon, No Cry I hope that's the mantra that gets amplified weekly via the megaphone of Conner's increasingly outstanding play.
I do hope that on principle, that the first series Bell plays, we line up in Wildcat, and for three straight snaps our linemen stand up and turn sideways. Unfortunately I think THEY would be too professional to ever do something like that. But it would certainly send the right message.
SO TRUE!!! Bell is proud of his production but without those 400 touches a season he and his agent are worried about he wouldn't have the opportunity to produce. I'm glad the Steelers stood their ground and didn't give Bell the guaranteed money he was demanding. The clown is 1 missed or failed pee test from sitting out a whole season.
It's official. He just forfeited his first game check by not reporting today. He just lost almost a million dollars, more than most people will ever see in their bank account. Oh the oppression. Poor LeVeon. If he holds out until late in the year, to AJM's point he may not even play hard in the playoffs (assuming we make the playoffs). This is the ugliest contract situation I've witnessed in Pittsburgh in a long, long while.
Of course it’s always easier to go back 5 years later but here are some other notable offensive players our beloved team passed on to take Bell in the 2013 draft: TE Travis Kelce TE Jordan Reed WR Keenan Allen In the 1st round they passed on Hopkins to take Jarvis Jones. I know financially at this point they wouldn’t have been able to pay AB and Hopkins but imagine that WR combo for a couple of years.
David Johnson received a 3 year $39 million contract extension. I think that is closer to what Bell should have got from the Steelers. Johnson had 1 year remaining on his contract so they can spread the signing bonus over 4 years lowering his cap number a little bit.
And do any of those three even touch the production of Bell? Allen is unavailable more than Bell, Reed seems to be battling the injury bug. Kelce is a top 5 TE but the Steelers still had Heath Miller and Bell has been a top 3 RB. As much drama as he has caused this past year, I'd still take Bell in that draft. Hopkins for Jones though, that would have been nice. Probably wouldn't have drafted Bryant or Coates.
None of them touch the drama of Bell either causing distraction after distraction. Kelce and a healthy Reed would have made the offense better.
