Steelers expected to tag Le’Veon Bell again

Despite reports that Le’Veon Bell might threaten to retire if franchise tagged, that’s exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to do in the offseason.

You would think that, by this point, the Pittsburgh Steelers would’ve learned from their mistakes. You would think that, after Le’Veon Bell held out at the start of the season after getting franchise tagged, they would acquiese to their star running back’s demands and commit to him long term like they did Antonio Brown.

It’s clear that Bell does not want to be tagged again, especially when he threatened to retire early, then said he would sit out. But according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Steelers are expected to give Bell the franchise tag, raising his salary from $12.1 million this season to $14.5 million in 2018.

While getting paid $26 million over two years is a hefty salary, Bell passed on the chance to sign a deal that would’ve seen him make $30 million over that same timeframe. Perhaps he wants to go the Kirk Cousins route and gain leverage by playing out franchise tags instead of jumping at the first offer he receives.

At this point, though, it’s hard to see how Bell doesn’t deserve a long term contract. While running backs tend to decline earlier than other position players, he’s only 25 years old and has shown no signs of slowing down. And even though Antonio Brown was the one who got MVP consideration throughout the season, Bell is the most important player on the Steelers offense, and is the one who should have the highest salary on his team.

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At this moment, though, Bell should be more concerned about his antics on social media. After the New England Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game, he tweeted that the Steelers will have “two round 2s in back-to-back weeks”, essentially overlooking the Jacksonville Jaguars. That tweet has since blown up in his face, as the Jaguars are leading 21-0 at Heinz Field at the time of writing.