Pittsburgh Steelers expected to franchise tag Le’Veon Bell
By John Buhler
It’s no surprise, the Pittsburgh Steelers have every intention in using the franchise tag on two-time Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell for the 2017 season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an absolute beast at running back in two-time NFL Pro Bowler Le’Veon Bell. He has been a stud tailback for the Steelers since coming out of Michigan State in the 2013 NFL Draft.
That being said, he’s not going to get a multi-year deal from the Steelers organization this offseason. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Bell will reportedly be slapped with the franchise tag for the 2017 NFL season.
Bell is every bit the bell-cow back that the Steelers love having in their high-octane offense. When healthy and on the field, Bell might be the best running back in the NFL. That’s the thing. Bell has had his issues with knee injuries and getting suspended for off the field issues.
In four years with the Steelers, only once has Bell played a full 16-game regular season slate. He was an All-Pro in 2014 when he played in every regular season game for the Steelers. Bell has dealt with knee injuries both in 2014 and 2015, as well as being suspended by the league for substance abuse in both 2015 and 2016.
In the last two seasons, Bell has only played in a combined 18 regular-season games. However, he has averaged 4.9 yards per carry the last two years. Bell made his second trip to the Pro Bowl in 2016 with 1,268 rushing yards and seven touchdowns despite missing four games.
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Applying the franchise tag is the right course of action for the Steelers and Bell probably knows that. He’ll get paid fair compensation for one year before hopefully getting a bigger deal in 2018 NFL free agency. Bell turns 25 in February and he should still have a few more years of high productivity before hitting 30.