Subscribe Place Ad Buy Trib Photos Sportstalk Contests
Jobs Homes Autos Classifieds
Trib Total Media Contact Us
ShareThis Page
Sports

Le'Veon Bell tells ESPN he'd consider sitting out 2018 if Steelers tag him again

Chris Adamski
Chris Adamski | Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, 6:47 p.m.
Steelers running back LeVeon Bell turns the corner on the Ravens' Brandon Carr for a fourth-quarter touchdown Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 at Heinz Field.
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Steelers running back LeVeon Bell turns the corner on the Ravens' Brandon Carr for a fourth-quarter touchdown Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 at Heinz Field.

Le'Veon Bell is playing the 2017 season under the franchise tag. The Steelers star running back made it clear he doesn't have intentions of doing the same in 2018.

ESPN asked Bell if he was prepared to sit out a season, or even retire, if the Steelers applied the franchise tag for the second consecutive year .

"I hope it doesn't come to that, but I would definitely consider it," Bell told the network.

Bell's salary for this season — his fifth in the NFL — is $12.1 million after the Steelers tagged him before he could test free agency this past spring. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Bell would make 120 percent of that amount (roughly $14.5 million) if he gets tagged a second consecutive season.

Bell and the Steelers failed to reach a multiyear extension earlier this year, so if he wanted to play, he had no choice but to abide by the terms of the franchise tag. Bell did not report to training camp and signed the tender the week before the regular season.

Bell maintained his stance was a principled one, and he told ESPN all he wants the Steelers to do is "value" him.

"Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them. I'm not going to settle for anything," Bell said. "I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I'm not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I'm not getting what I feel I'm valued at."

Bell had 406 touches in 15 games this season and was on pace for the 13th-most touches for a season in NFL history if he played in the regular-season finale (coach Mike Tomlin rested several starters). Even in 15 games, he had the 36th-most touches of all-time and the second-most for any player in a season since 2009.

Bell is off to one of the most productive five-year starts to a career for a running back in NFL history. He reached 7,500 yards from scrimmage in fewer games than any player (59) and by far leads the league in yards per scrimmage per game (129.0) since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2013.

"I don't necessarily care about the money aspect of it," Bell told ESPN of his contract. "I just want to be valued where I'm at. If I am playing this game, I want to set standards for all the other running backs behind me, like Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon, guys like that. I'm a guy they can kind of look at. I feel I can do that. I'm in a position where I can do that, and I'm going to do it."

About 2½ hours after the ESPN story was published online, Bell posted a message to his verified Twitter account that reiterated his commitment to the Steelers during these playoffs but did not attempt to soften his stance on his contract situation:

"I'm trying to win a super bowl...I can care less about what happens after this season...my biggest thing I'm focused on is this team I'm on right now, playing for/with my brothers, & bringing back a 7th ring! what happens next year is irrelevant to my goals."

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.

Related Content
Tim Benz: Believe it or not, Steelers' Le'Veon Bell should emulate Martavis Bryant
Even Martavis Bryant is in a good mood at the Steelers training facility this week. Smiling. Saying all the right things. Toeing the company line. ...
TribLIVE commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

click me