The Steelers have placed the franchise tag on running back Le’Veon Bell, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Steelers have opted for the exclusive tag, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), which means that no other team can sign him away. The two sides now have until July to hammer out a new contract. If they do not, Bell will play out 2017 on a one-year, ~$12MM deal.
The non-exclusive variant of the tag, which costs the same as the exclusive one, opens the door for another team to sign the player if the original club does not match. When that happens, the team losing the player collects on two first-round picks.
Bell, 25, is arguably the best running back in the NFL. Had he reached unrestricted free agency, Bell probably would have become the highest-paid tailback in the NFL, considering that Adrian Peterson‘s current deal is days away from being terminated.
In 12 games last year, Bell ran for 1,268 yards off of 261 carries (4.9 yards per attempt) and had seven rushing touchdowns. Bell was often utilized as a receiver too, totaling 75 catches for 616 yards and two scores. As if that wasn’t enough, Pro Football Focus gave him the sixth-highest pass blocking grade of any running back in the NFL last year. His overall grade, naturally, was No. 1 amongst RBs.
shocker
No surprise. He’s the hands down best RB in the world.
David Johnson is his equal.
LOL
I haven’t laughed that hard in a long, long time. Maybe ever.
Come on man. You’re just asking for ppl to make fun of you. David Johnson is a great RB, no doubt, but come on. Bell is in his own class. After him there’s Elliott. After Elliott, Johnson is in that class. Everyone knows this. Except Lesean McCoy of course, he thinks he’s the best lol. David Johnson is better than McCoy, I’ll give him that.
I’d rather have David Johnson than Zeke, put Bell or Johnson behind that OL and they’re breaking records.
David Johnson? Really? That’s funny…
After resigning brown and tagging bell their cap must be dangerously low