Steelers Unlikely To Agree To Bell's Demands
- On the topic of impasses for All-Pros, Le’Veon Bell remains focused on a deal that represents a combination of his abilities on the ground and through the air — a demand that could be up to $17MM AAV. Although the Steelers‘ talks with their star running back resumed, they are still unlikely to produce a long-term deal, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Fittipaldo is the latest to confirm Bell turned down a contract proposal that would have ensured he made $30MM in 2017 and ’18, adding it was a five-year offer. Bell’s entrance to the league as a 2013 second-round pick, and a player who has earned less than 2016 first-rounder Ezekiel Elliott (since Bell has yet to sign his $14.5MM 2018 tender, this is still accurate), is helping drive Bell to take this hardline stance, per Fittipaldo.
Safety Spot In Play For Cameron Sutton
- On the subject of unsettled secondary situations, the Steelers look to feature training camp battles for the spots that Joe Haden and Morgan Burnett do not hold. The main uncertainty here going into camp looks to be 2017 third-rounder Cameron Sutton, whom Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes could settle in at outside corner, in the slot, or as Burnett’s running mate on the back end. While the 5-foot-11, 188-pound Sutton would make for a diminutive safety, he did receive reps there during the Steelers’ offseason program, per Rutter. Sutton started at cornerback for four seasons at Tennessee and is the Volunteers’ all-time leader in passes defensed. Artie Burns‘ job isn’t certain, per Rutter. Neither is Sean Davis‘. And with Terrell Edmunds set to factor into the mix, the Steelers could sport some interesting sub-packages this season.
Steelers Could Rescind Franchise Tag From Le'Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell appears likely to again remain away from the Steelers all summer. Similarly to last year, he’s expected to show up right before the regular season as he angles for a longterm extension that will make him the highest paid running back in league history.
Until he shows up, Bell won’t be signing his franchise tender. That’s in contrast to the other players who’ve been tagged such as Lamarcus Joyner, Demarcus Lawrence, and Ezekiel Ansah, who have all signed their tenders. If there’s no progress on a longterm deal and the relationship between the two sides sour, the Steelers could even rescind Bell’s tender before he signs it and play the 2018 season without him, says Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. While Florio says that option “remains unlikely”, he thinks it’s a possibility and notes it would put Bell in a “tough spot” as most teams’ salary caps and rosters would be set by then.
It’s a long-shot, but the Steelers seem to think they need Bell less than everyone else. Crazier things have happened.
Steelers View Landry Jones As Short-Term QB2
- While Mason Rudolph is the player viewed as a possible Ben Roethlisberger successor at some point down the line, Landry Jones is the player the Steelers prefer as the short-term backup, Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes. Jones has started five games for the Steelers the past three seasons, going 3-2 (with two of those wins coming against the Browns), but he’s entering the final year of his contract. Rutter adds that Rudolph showed promise in offseason workouts, despite having scant experience in non-shotgun sets, perhaps indicating he can push Jones. However, Joshua Dobbs‘ only avenue to stay with the Steelers seems to be an injury to one of the aforementioned passers or a practice squad slot. With quarterback depth not exactly booming across the league, Dobbs making it through waivers and onto the taxi squad may be a long shot. So, the Tennessee product may be preparing for his second and final Steelers camp.
The Steelers' History With The Franchise Tag
- As the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell near the extension deadline, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looked back the club’s history with the franchise tag. Since the tag was instituted 25 years ago, the Steelers have signed just over 44% of tagged players to extensions. Some of those deals have worked out well, as was the case with defensive back Carnell Lake in 1995. Others have not, such as Jason Gildon’s five-year, $23MM extension in 2002, which was terminated in 2003.
Brandon Boykin Retires?
Brandon Boykin‘s NFL career appears to be over. The former Eagles and Steelers cornerback is suiting up for the American Flag Football League this summer, according to Geoff Mosher of The Score. 
Boykin, 28 next week, was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles in 2012. In 2013, he turned in a career year with 47 tackles, six interceptions, and 16 passes defended. In 2015, he landed with the Steelers and had his least productive year with just 21 total stops. He has not seen live action since, though he signed deals with the Panthers and Bears in 2016 and the Ravens in 2017.
Boykin has not formally announced his retirement, but it sounds like he has moved on from the NFL.
“It’s fun, man. You talk about playing flag football, that’s what you grew up doing,” said Boykin of the upstart summer league. “You can play the game in its truest form and have fun and compete with people all over the world, not have a helmet on and just enjoy the game. That’s what players want. That’s what’s so enticing about it. You can still make money playing a game that’s truly a game.”
The flag football league is made up of four teams, composed of former professional athletes. The team that wins the title will face the amateur champs July 19 in Houston in “the Ultimate Final.” Boykin is a member of Ocho, a team captained by Chad Johnson. They’ll face Michael Vick‘s Roadrunners on Saturday night in the professional semifinals.
July 16 Marks NFL’s Franchise Tag Extension Deadline
This year, the deadline for teams to reach extensions with franchise tagged players falls on July 16. If the following four players do not agree to new contracts in the coming days, they will be ticketed for free agency in 2019:
- Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell
- Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah
- Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence
- Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner
For Bell, the absence of a deal all but guarantees that he will be allowed to explore the open market next season. That’s because this is the second year in a row that Bell has been hit with the tag. He’ll make $14.544MM this season if no extension deal is reached, but a third tag would cost Pittsburgh more than $20MM. For the rest, the possibility of a second franchise tag remains, though the requisite 20% increase could prevent teams from applying the tender.
The rules of the franchise tag dictate that teams have until mid-July to hammer out an extension with players. If not, the two sides are barred from engaging in contract talks until after the season has concluded.
From 2013-2017, 16 of the league’s 33 franchise tagged players agreed to extensions before the summer deadline. This year, it’s hard to say whether deals will be reached for any of the players in question. Bell is looking for a deal that will reflect his production as a top running back and a No. 2 wide receiver. The defensive ends, Ansah and Lawrence, know that teams are willing to overpay for quality edge rushers in free agency. Joyner, meanwhile, may be content to let the Rams control his fate since he’ll either make $11MM+ this year and hit free agency, or earn $25MM through two franchise tags and reach the open market in 2020.
Then again, a serious injury could derail any member of this quartet, so there’s something to be said for financial security over monetary upside. Joyner, in particular, could be quietly eager to sign a multi-year deal after watching a dismal free agent safety market play out this offseason.
What we do know for sure is that the next 12 days will be worth monitoring.
Poll: Will Steelers Extend Le’Veon Bell?
As could be expected given the events of the past 1 1/2 years, the Le’Veon Bell/Steelers saga is coming down to the wire. By July 16, Steelers fans will almost certainly know if the two-time All-Pro running back will be a long-term Pittsburgh resident.
Thus far, the signs haven’t been especially promising. Although Bell is optimistic about an extension being finalized, Pittsburgh-based reporters are skeptical about the team committing at the rate Bell seeks. Devonta Freeman‘s $8.25MM-per-year deal represents the current ceiling for long-term running back pacts, but Bell could be angling for $17MM annually in what would be an unbelievable markup for this position. He also might merely want something north of his new franchise tag number ($14.5MM), which would still double as a seismic increase for this job compared to the top rates of the recent past.
The Steelers appeared closer to reaching the finish line with Bell last summer, when they reportedly offered him a deal that would have paid him $42.5MM in its first three years and $30MM across the first two. Bell will be collecting just more than $26MM on his two-franchise tag arrangement between the 2017 and ’18 seasons. The 26-year-old ball-carrier, though, said the Steelers’ top 2017 offer was for $13.3MM per year for the life of the contract. While that still would have represented a seismic raise for the running back market, and was a $1.1MM AAV increase from Bell’s 2017 franchise tag rate, Bell wanted his contract to reflect his contributions as a receiver as well.
Bell then caught a career-high 85 passes — his second 80-reception season — and stayed healthy throughout a dominant slate that doubled as the Steelers’ best since their 2010 AFC championship campaign. But he also added a career-high 406 touches to his odometer. The Steelers have used him as an old-school workhorse. Despite that helping Bell’s statistics, his usage rate may be hurting his long-term value.
Although Kevin Colbert expressed optimism back in March the Steelers would extend Bell, it’s possible that given the way these talks have progressed the team views him as a high-end short-term rental rather than someone who will still be an elite player into his late 20s or early 30s.
However, the Steelers don’t have a ready-made Bell replacement lined up. That would be unrealistic, since the former second-round pick’s been one of the best backs of the decade. But would it be better for a team that’s struggled on defense for years to let Bell walk in 2019 and devote most of that money to helping its weaker unit? Or is Bell essential to Pittsburgh keeping its Super Bowl title window open?
The Steelers may well be the Patriots’ top threat in the AFC, but might this be the last season where Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Bell are teammates? Bell and the Steelers not agreeing to an extension by the July deadline would put the running back on a Kirk Cousins path, with a 2019 tag number exceeding an untenable $20MM, and make Cousins’ former Michigan State teammate a unique free agent just as he was this year. Or, will Bell back down from his lofty price point and lock in some multiyear guarantees while he’s still in his mid-20s?
Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Steelers Eye Morgan Burnett As Pure SS
With Le’Veon Bell demanding $17MM per year, less than three weeks could remain for Steelers fans to view the All-Pro running back as a long-term asset. Following the July 16 franchise tag deadline, Bell could be headed toward rental status this season and 2019 free agency. The Steelers are not about to authorize a $17MM-AAV deal for Bell, Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, adding that the only chance of an extension being hammered out is if Bell comes off that price. Judging by the lack of communication between the parties since their pre-draft re-up talks, Zeise notes it’s clear the Steelers are going to hold their line. Bell is optimistic about a deal, but Zeise notes he appears to be the only one. The Steelers may not be able to replace Bell, but the gap between he and either James Conner (or a future successor) may not translate to Pittsburgh paying its running back what he wants. Bell’s $17MM-per-year price is more than twice what current running back salary leader Devonta Freeman makes.
- The Steelers do not believe Morgan Burnett is the same player he was at his Packers apex, and they don’t plan on asking him to perform like it, according to Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Keith Butler is planning for the 29-year-old safety to assume some of the responsibility Ryan Shazier used to, working as a quality run-stopper and patrolling the middle of the field on passing downs. However, the plan is for Burnett to play strong safety and for the likes of Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds to have deep-middle responsibilities at free safety, per Benz. Edmunds played a hybrid-type role late in his Virginia Tech career, which would appear to overlap with Burnett’s job description, but it appears the Steelers are confident the first-rounder will be able to grow into a true free safety.
Latest On Unsigned First-Round Picks
Only six percent of 2018 NFL draft picks remain unsigned, and 71% (12-of-17) of those contract-less selections are first-rounders. For a certain slice of those unsigned first-round picks, especially those selected near the back end of Day 1, Seahawks rookie running back Rashaad Penny‘s contract is playing a role in negotiations, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains.
While the three players selected at pick Nos. 23-25 (Patriots offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn, Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore, and Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst) each garnered significant fourth season base salary guarantees, Penny — who was chosen with the 27th overall pick — actually saw his fourth season salary guarantee percentage decrease when compared to 2017’s No. 27 selection, Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White, per Florio.
The NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement implemented slotted rookie contracts which make negotiations a breeze, but there’s a still a bit of wiggle room. First-rounders selected near the end of the first round won’t often get the entirety of their fourth season base salary guaranteed, but that’s an area where agents can press for a bit extra in talks. Penny’s representatives, clearly, didn’t do so, which could now lead other teams with unsigned first-round picks to withhold guarantees.
Here are the unsigned first-round picks chosen after No. 20 overall:
- Falcons, 1-26: Calvin Ridley, WR (Alabama)
- Steelers, 1-28: Terrell Edmunds, S (Virginia Tech)
- Jaguars, 1-29: Taven Bryan, DT (Florida)
- Vikings, 1-30: Mike Hughes, CB (UCF)
- Patriots, 1-31: Sony Michel, RB (Georgia)
Overall, the amount of fourth season guarantees shouldn’t stand in the way of getting deals for the above players done, as the dollar amounts in question are in the thousands, not millions. But the lack of signed contracts does speak to the small area of available negotiation still left in rookie pacts, and is something to watch as the offseason progresses.