Eagles Giving ‘Serious Consideration’ To Le’Veon Bell Trade?
The Eagles are giving “serious consideration” to the prospect of trading for Le’Veon Bell, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said during a radio interview with Jon Marks and Ike Reese of Sports Radio WIP (Twitter link).
The Eagles have been mulling this trade for a while, per La Canfora, who believes a third-round pick may be enough to get a deal done (Twitter link).
Bell said he would report to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye, but La Canfora doubts he’ll ever play for Pittsburgh again, citing the bridge being burned. Pittsburgh’s still listening to offers, and one could come from the other Pennsylvania franchise. The Eagles’ interest surfaced over the weekend, with La Canfora reporting the defending Super Bowl champs were among the pursuing franchises. The Jets and 49ers join them.
This year’s trade deadline looms in just less than four weeks. The Eagles would have to clear some cap space to afford Bell. While the 26-year-old All-Pro’s price tag continues to drop because of his holdout, it’s still north of $10MM. Philadelphia has $4.3MM in cap space as of Wednesday. The obvious space-clearing move would be to unload backup quarterback Nick Foles, but given Carson Wentz‘s recent return, it would be incredibly risky for the Eagles to do this.
That said, Philadelphia has a unique championship window. Wentz is attached to his rookie deal through at least the end of this season. It’s possible the Eagles, whose 2019 cap sheet represents the NFL’s worst projected situation going into the next league year, could keep Wentz on this deal through 2019 — since he can be controlled on this contract through 2020 via the fifth-year option — but it should be expected for negotiations on a mammoth extension to commence in 2019.
Philly’s seen injuries consistently affect its running back corps. Jay Ajayi is playing with a back fracture, and both Darren Sproles and Corey Clement missed last week’s game. Sproles remains without a clear return timetable. Wendell Smallwood, who had to fight to make the Eagles’ roster as the No. 4 back, was Ajayi’s backup on Sunday.
The Eagles pulled off a major running back trade last year when they acquired Ajayi for a fourth-round pick. It would cost more to obtain Bell, however, although JLC considers a second-round pick an “ambitious” on the Steelers’ part. And Bell would surely be a rental commodity given Philly’s 2019 cap situation. Bell will voyage into a rare free agency situation next year, given his workload history and age, but can still be expected to land a deal in the vicinity of what Todd Gurley and David Johnson are making. The Eagles wouldn’t seem a candidate to authorize that contract, but for this season, it would make sense for the 2-2 team to add another weapon while this title window is open.
Pittsburgh’s 1-2-1 and could also obviously use Bell. It’s made preparations to fit Bell’s franchise tag price into its 2018 cap picture, having restructured several veterans’ contracts to clear space. But the Steelers and Bell waged contract battles for two offseasons, and multiple offensive linemen called out the running back for not reporting prior to Week 1.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Jordan Leslie (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
- LB Junior Sylvestre (link); CBs Sterling Moore, Josh Robinson; K Daniel Carlson, Miles Bergner (link via Caplan)
Denver Broncos
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- RB Akeem Hunt; C Jake Eldrenkamp; Ts Antonio Garcia, De’Ondre Wesley; G Landon Turner (link)
Green Bay Packers
- LBs Josh Carraway, Aaron Wallace (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RBs Matthew Dayes, Orleans Darkwa (link via Caplan)
Los Angeles Chargers
- LBs Jonathan Celestin, Tre’von Johnson; P Shane Tripucka; LS Taybor Pepper (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Anthony Winbush; DBs Xavier Coleman, Ranthony Texada; K Kai Forbath
Miami Dolphins
- Gs Austin Davis, J.J. Dielman; Cs Dillon Day, T.J. Johnson, Jon Toth; T Gerhard de Beer; DTs Xavier Cooper, Will Sutton (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Terrence Fede; LB Tyrone Holmes (link)
New England Patriots
- T Andrew Nelson (link)
New Orleans Saints
- G/T Oday Aboushi; Ts Chaz Green, Austin Howard; Gs Jordan Morgan, Isaiah Williams; CBs De’Vante Bausby, Jeremy Boykins, Byron Maxwell (link)
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Damontre Moore, Jacquies Smith; LBs Travis Feeney, Edmond Robinson; K Nick Novak (link via Caplan)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- CB Herb Waters (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- WR Keon Hatcher; DE Hau’oli Kikaha; LB Chris Odom; CB Kalan Reed; Ss Maurice Alexander, Eddie Pleasant, Jeremy Reaves (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Josh Shaw; S A.J. Howard (link)
Tennessee Titans
- QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Aaron Burbridge, Reggie Davis, Damoun Patterson; LB Antwione Williams (link)
Latest On Le'Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell‘s revelation that he plans to report to the Steelers following their Week 7 bye leads to as many questions as it does answers, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes in a pair of posts. As Florio notes, Pittsburgh will have three options once Bell reports: play him as if nothing ever happened; trade him before the October 30 trade deadline; or rescind Bell’s franchise tender, which wouldn’t lead to any additional draft pick compensation. Additionally, a roster exemption could play a large role in Bell’s return, per Florio. The Steelers will be allowed to use a two-week exemption for Bell once he signs his franchise tag, and club and player will need to agree to the salary Bell will be paid if he’s on the exempt list. If Pittsburgh doesn’t want to pay Bell at his full rate while he’s on the exempt list, Bell could conceivably reinstate his holdout.
Latest On Le’Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell will return to the Steelers…but not right away. The Steelers’ star rusher plans to report to the team during it’s Week 7 bye, putting him in position to make his debut in Week 8 against the Browns.
Of course, nothing can be that cut and dry when it comes to the messy situation between Bell and the Steelers. The Steelers are expected to still field trade offers for the running back between now and the Oct. 31 deadline, so it’s not a given that he’ll be back in black and yellow.
Here’s what Bell has to say about his absence and planned return:
- Bell’s exact reporting day is still unclear, but he plans to be ready for Oct. 28 against the Browns and will decide how many practices he needs based on that, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Bell added that he’s in great shape and could play “tomorrow,” if needed. Be that as it may, the Steelers probably aren’t too enthusiastic about Bell dictating his own practice schedule.
- The running back says that sitting out the entire season was never an option (via Fowler). “It sucks having to sit out football,” Bell said. “I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs. But I’ve gotta take this stand. Knowing my worth and knowing I can tear a ligament or get surgery at any time, I knew I couldn’t play 16 games with 400 or more touches.”
- Looking ahead to March, Bell speculated that the Jets, 49ers, Colts, Browns and Eagles would be among the teams interested in his services, though he says he’d want to join a club that values his skill set and winning. “I know the guaranteed money will be there [in March],” Bell said. “If a team wanted to, they could definitely do what they needed to do to make me happy and satisfied.“
Steelers Place S Nat Berhe On IR
The Steelers have placed safety Nat Berhe on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, according to a team announcement. To fill his spot on the roster, the Steelers have promoted cornerback Brian Allen from the practice squad. 
[RELATED: Le’Veon Bell To Return To Steelers]
Berhe joined the Steelers as a free agent in April after spending the early part of his career with the Giants. At the time, the move was something of a head-scratcher since big-name safeties like Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, Tre Boston, T.J. Ward, Tyvon Branch, Darius Butler, and former Steeler Mike Mitchell were still available, but the Steelers valued his special teams play and likely saw him as a value add. After four games and two total tackles, Berhe’s 2018 season is likely over.
Allen, the team’s fifth-round draft pick in the 2017 draft, played in ten games last season and had two special teams tackles. He also played in the Steelers postseason game against the Jaguars.
Le’Veon Bell To Report To Steelers During Week 7 Bye
6:09 pm: Although Bell has now made it known he plans on reporting to the Steelers, the team is still “expected to be interested in listening to trade offers” for the running back, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Schefter notes that Bell’s announcement will “not dissuade” the Steelers from making a deal if the terms are favorable. It remains unclear what kind of trade market Bell would have for a one-year rental, but it’s possible they could get something. It was reported yesterday that the Eagles and 49ers had some interest.
5:46pm: The question everyone in the football world has been asking finally has an answer. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell plans to report to the team during Pittsburgh’s bye week in Week 7, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN (Twitter link).
It’s a great day to be a Steelers fan, as Fowler adds “Bell definitely plans to play football for the Steelers this season.” Bell’s future with the team seemed to be in serious doubt as recently as earlier this week, when it was reported that the Steelers were actively shopping him. It’s possible the threat of an imminent trade caused Bell to re-consider his stance and leak the news of his impending return.
The news means the Steelers will only have to go two more games without Bell, Week 5 and 6 matchups against the Falcons and Bengals respectively. The news couldn’t come at a better time for the Steelers, as the team is currently in disarray. Fresh off a 12 point home loss on Sunday Night Football to the Ravens, the Steelers currently find themselves at 1-2-1, tied with the Browns for last place in the AFC North.
While James Conner has filled in admirably, it will be a huge boost to the Steelers’ offense. Teams simply don’t have to gameplan to stop Conner in the way that they do Bell. Assuming Bell does return during the bye, his first game will be back at home in Pittsburgh for a game against Cleveland. It’s unclear how this bizarre and relatively unprecedented situation will impact Bell’s longterm future in Pittsburgh or his 2019 free agency, but we should have a lot more clarity soon.
Bell will sign his franchise tender, and assuming the Steelers don’t agree to any 2018 pay-raise, he’ll earn just a tick under $10MM as his $14.94MM franchise tag salary would be prorated over the 11 weeks he’ll spend with the team.
Steelers Actively Shopping Le’Veon Bell; Eagles, 49ers Interested
Last week, reports that the Steelers were listening to trade offers for running back Le’Veon Bell became the latest development in the long and winding Bell saga. Today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) reports that Pittsburgh is actively shopping Bell and is not simply waiting on calls from rival clubs.
In addition to the obvious complications to finalizing a Bell trade — which Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk laid out again today — Rapoport says that the Steelers’ asking price is reportedly too high for other teams at the moment. RapSheet indicates that Pittsburgh is currently asking for a second-round pick and a player in exchange for Bell, which another club is almost certainly not going to give up. Bell’s talent doubtlessly merits such a return, but the fact that he will effectively be a one-year rental — and an expensive rental at that — will limit what the Steelers can get in a Bell swap.
Right now, however, it appears that Pittsburgh is not in any rush to lower its demands. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports points out, the trade deadline is still a month away, and the Steelers are currently willing to let the market develop. La Canfora adds that the Jets and 49ers have made “exploratory calls” to Pittsburgh, though San Francisco’s interest in Bell may no longer be very high after the team lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the season.
The Eagles, though, are also interested, per La Canfora. The Eagles are obvious contenders and have suffered a number of injuries to their backfield that could prompt the ever-aggressive Howie Roseman to get creative in his push for back-to-back titles. Philadelphia would of course need to clear some cap space in order to acquire Bell, but there are ways to do that (like jettisoning backup QB Nick Foles).
La Canfora writes that the Steelers would be willing to deal one disgruntled star for another by sending Bell to the Seahawks in exchange for safety Earl Thomas, but there has been no contact between Pittsburgh and Seattle at this point.
Indeed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that no team has been aggressive in pursuing Bell thus far. That jibes with a tweet from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who says that there is minimal trade buzz surrounding Bell at the moment.
Schefter also notes that, the longer Bell stays away from the Steelers, the more he could lose on his 2019 pay. For instance, if any team were to use the transition tag on Bell next season, the tag number would be 120 percent of this season’s salary, so the more 2018 game checks Bell misses out on, the lower the tag number would be. Of course, Bell could appeal such a matter to an arbitrator, but his holdout is becoming riskier with each passing week.
Latest On Le’Veon Bell
The Steelers can technically net a compensatory draft pick by revoking Le’Veon Bell‘s tag and losing him to another team, but their previous free agency signings would cancel out the loss of the running back, as Mike Florio of PFT writes. 
The Steelers didn’t have the splashiest offseason out there, but they did sign safety Morgan Burnett and linebacker Jon Bostic while losing only tackle Chris Hubbard – all of whom count in the formula. Therefore, if there were to lose Bell right now, it wouldn’t do anything to help their case in terms of 2019 draft picks.
On the other hand, losing Bell as a free agent next year would make a positive mark on their 2020 comp pick formula, provided that they do not add too many compensatory free agents.
So, the Steelers are likely still using a 2020 third-round pick as a reference point in trade talks and would not accept anything less than that in a deal. A 2019 third-round pick could convince them to pull the trigger on a trade, since it carries a higher value and would give them less to worry about when it comes to the 2020 comp formula.
There’s no shortage of teams that would like to land Bell, but any club acquiring him via trade would have to wait until after the season to negotiate a long-term deal. That, coupled with the fact that Bell wants to shatter the market for running backs, will limit the Steelers’ potential return. Still, the Jets have already phoned the Steelers, and other clubs have surely opened up trade talks with GM Kevin Colbert.
Jets Express Interest In Le’Veon Bell
The Jets have reached out to the Steelers about trading for Le’Veon Bell, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets have become the first known team, but certainly not last, to inquire on the superstar running back.
The Jets have yet to make a concrete offer for Bell, but they believe the Steelers are serious about moving him, Mehta hears. Bell is set to miss the third game of the season when the Steelers face the Bucs on Monday night, and with no end to his holdout in sight, the Steelers recently opened up the phone lines for trade discussion.
This offseason, the Steelers hit Bell with the franchise tag for the second straight year. He’s under contract for 2018 with his one-year, $14.54MM placeholder (or, rather, the prorated portion of that), but any team acquiring Bell will have to wait until the season is over before negotiating an extension with him. For that reason, Bell’s trade value is capped for Pittsburgh. Any team acquiring Bell will have to lock him up to a mammoth contract to keep him in the long run while having no assurances of that deal coming together.
The Steelers would likely receive a third-round compensatory pick in 2020 by keeping Bell and allowing him to leave as a free agent next offseason, but that’s not a guarantee due to the complex comp pick formula. Instead, the Steelers would prefer to net a 2019 third-round choice – or perhaps even settle for a ’19 fourth-round pick.
The Jets have not had a running back of Bell’s talent level in his prime since the days of Curtis Martin, so they’d surely love to add Bell for the right price.
Latest On Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown‘s decision to skip practice on Monday represented a culmination of months of tension between the Steelers and their All-Pro receiver, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Brown was upset earlier this year after being told that his personal trainer and social media manager would no longer be welcome on Pittsburgh’s practice field, and some within the organization believe his multi-day absence during training camp — ostensibly due to a injury — was instead related to his disappointment. Ultimately, the Steelers believe Brown simply wants to win, but there is reportedly also concern with the club that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s close relationship with offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner (and his subsequent influence on play-calling) could cause more strain in the locker room.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick is unlikely to be replaced as the Buccaneers‘ starting quarterback no matter how he fares against the Steelers on Monday night, reports La Canfora. While Jameis Winston will come off suspension prior to Week 4, Fitzpatrick has been among the league’s best quarterbacks through two games, as he leads the NFL passing yardage while racking up eight passing touchdowns. Fitzpatrick has internal support within the locker room (and especially from Tampa Bay’s offensive line), so the club’s coaching staff is unlikely to make a change any time soon. The Buccaneers face the Bears in Week 4 before heading into a bye the following week.