Steelers have placed franchise tag on RB Le’Veon Bell

The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed the franchise tag on running back Le’Veon Bell according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.

The Steelers have impeded Bell from hitting the NFL free agency market by placing the franchise tag on him that will  pay him in the neighborhood of $9.7 million for one year. This move is no-brainer for the Steelers given that it is absolutely essential they keep quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the running back Bell on the same team.

The Steelers were forced into making a decision given that no long-term deal for Bell was on the horizon and the deadline to franchise tag players is March 1st. Bell was most likely going to make a similar yearly salary had he hit the free agent market anyway, but it certainly would’e helped the Steelers had Adrian Peterson been released. That’s likely why they’ve waited this long to tag Bell in the first place.

Had Adrian Peterson been cut  by the Vikings, the tag would be much cheaper for running backs because Peterson has a lofty cap hit of $18 million, $8 million more than the next closest running back. This affects the franchise tag because the tag is calculated by taking the average salaries of the top 5 most paid players at that position.

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Regardless, Bell has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL the past few seasons and had 1,884 yards from scrimmage in 2016 despite missing the first 4 games due to a suspension. So the Steelers are extremely wise to tag Bell and keep the star on the Steelers for at least one more year. But they obviously hope that, like wide receiver Antonio Brown, Bell will be on the Steelers for years and years to come.