First Call: Could Steelers still tag Le'Veon Bell?, Alan Faneca stays strong, Michael Keaton tweets

In Monday's "First Call," Michael Keaton's dubious Pittsburgh Steelers tweet during the Super Bowl. Would the Steelers really transition tag Le'Veon Bell? And Antonio Brown may be changing his mind about wanting to stay in Pittsburgh.

Super Bowl bombshell

Before the New England Patriots plunged the rest of the NFL into a deep, dark depression by winning their sixth Super Bowl, ESPN's Adam Schefter lobbed this grenade into the NFL wading pool.

Steelers still considering using transition tag on Le'Veon Bell, per sources.https://t.co/ODI4PEZQTM

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2019

Wow. OK. I get it. But I don't get it.

By transition tagging Bell, the Steelers are at least gauging the market for what other teams are willing to spend to sign him. And if someone wants to top the $9.5 million dollar offer, the Steelers can decide if Bell really is worth — to them — the terms of whatever "Team X" would be willing to pay.

The tag can be placed on Bell any time between Feb. 19 and March 5. The transition tag guarantees the Steelers the right of first refusal to match any offer the player gets from another team.

If Bell leaves, then the Steelers would get no compensation. And they would've tied up more cap space and potentially impacted their approach to the draft under the assumption that Bell would still be on the roster.

Plus, this situation may be even more convoluted than the normal transition tag situation because, as Schefter points out:

"There also is a battle brewing between the NFL and the NFL Players Association over the value of what the transition tag would be on Bell if the Steelers did use it. Bell and the NFLPA will argue that the transition tag is close to $14.5 million based on the escalating value of tags, and the Steelers and the NFL will say it's closer to $9.5 million because Bell sat out this past season."

Awesome.

How about the Steelers just cut bait and move on? Do they really want to do this dance again?

A.B. tweets

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown continues to show that he is not bipolar. He's tripolar. Maybe quadpolar — if that's a thing.

If it isn't yet, it will be as soon as Brown is diagnosed.

Now — after weeks of turning his nose up at the Steelers and pandering to the Packers and 49ers fan bases — Brown is pleading for acceptance from Steelers fans again.

SteelerNation RT if u AB in Pittsburgh

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 3, 2019

I'm going to assume A.B. meant "SteelerNation RT (retweet) if u WANT AB in Pittsburgh." But perhaps he was too busy grooming his blonde mustache to pay attention to his syntax.

Regardless of his insubordination at the end of the 2018 season, that tweet still got 28,000 retweets and 18,300 likes at the time of this post.

Pittsburghers ... we are a fickle people.

Faneca falters

Former Steelers guard Alan Faneca failed to make the Hall of Fame again.

That stinks. He should've been elected. So should've Seattle's equally fine guard Steve Hutchinson. But he didn't make it either.

Former Jets, Seahawks, and Titans center Kevin Mawae did get elected, though. And that's a joke.

Not that Mawae made it. He deserves the honor. I would've voted for him, too. But not before Faneca or Hutchinson.

For his part, Faneca seems to be taking the news better than me. Well, he's not as bitter about it. But you can tell he's bummed and feels looked over.

It sucks and it hurts, but don’t feel sorry for me. Life moves on, and we find the next challenge in front of us. I’m thankful for all I’ve been blessed with. #ThankYou #GeauxTigers #SteelersNation

— Alan Faneca (@afan66) February 3, 2019

Here's to hoping the Hall of Fame committee gets its head screwed on straight and puts Faneca (and Hutchinson) in next year.

Batman speaks

Good for you, Michael Keaton. Wise move playing your yinzer card n'at. But this is ridiculous.

Here's what Batman tweeted during the Super Bowl.

Only beginning of 3rd quarter and I’m saying this now-Steelers would have crushed both these teams-

— Michael Keaton (@MichaelKeaton) February 4, 2019

Well, Michael, are you assuming Antonio Brown would've actually decided to show up for this hypothetical Steelers championship game?

Also, shouldn't the Steelers beat the Raiders before they start worrying about Super Bowls?

Although, he did get this one right.

Hey! Steelers! How did you let this happen?!!
Better sit yourselves down and think all of this over.
You let the Pats do this???!!!! Take a long hard look

— Michael Keaton (@MichaelKeaton) February 4, 2019

Nope. Can't disagree there.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TimBenzPGH. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.