January 14, 2018. That is the last time that the Pittsburgh Steelers have seen Le’Veon Bell report to work as their star RB. For those of you counting at home, that is 277 days, over 39 weeks, and about 9 months. During that span, Bell has missed all off-season workouts, held out of training camp for the second consecutive year, and has now missed at least 6 games to the date of this article being written. A report surfaced a few weeks ago that Le’Veon would rejoin the team during their bye week, but Monday morning came and went without a Bell sighting. So, what has happened between one of the best running backs in the league and the Steelers? A holdout of this magnitude is almost unprecedented. Let’s recap how we got into this situation.
Going into the 2016 season, Le’Veon Bell was arguably the best running back in the league and he was due for a huge, new contract. The Steelers seemed to agree with that idea as they wanted to keep their star player locked up for the long haul. It seemed like both sides had a common goal so what happened? Communications between the two parties were never where they should’ve been. No progress was made during the 2016 season, but nobody was worried about not being able to get a deal done. They just assumed a deal would get done in the offseason. In February of 2017, the Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bell, but it was seen as more of a placeholder at the time. Bell wanted to remain a Steeler for life, but the two sides were obviously not seeing eye to eye when it came to Bell’s value. It would be easy to bash the Steelers for being cheap by not giving into Le’Veon’ s demands, but let’s remember that Bell was coming off his second suspension in two consecutive seasons for a failed drug test. He was also dealing with durability issues coming into that season. I understand why the Steelers were hesitant at the time. If you’re going to pay a RB that much money for that long, he better be available to play week in and week out no matter how talented of a player he might be. The Steelers obviously weren’t completely convinced Bell was that guy. They were unable to negotiate a deal and Le’Veon Bell was going to have to play the 2017 season under the franchise tag. The star running back was not a happy camper. This led to his first holdout during training camp. He even created his own diss track about the negotiations. People were getting worried when he still wasn’t reporting during the preseason, but he finally signed his franchise tender and reported to the team just in time to play in their week 1 matchup. He looked extremely rusty at the beginning of the season, and ended up having one of the worst seasons of his career. This was exactly what the Steelers were worried about. Running backs have a very short shelf-life and Bell already had a lot of mileage on him. After the season, Bell threatened to retire if he received the franchise tag again. The Steelers must’ve not heard that interview or just didn’t care because they slapped the tag on him for the second consecutive season. Pittsburgh tried to offer Bell a lucrative deal that was reported to be worth $70 million over five years, but it was not enough. Bell wanted a contract worth $15-17 million per year which was unprecedented for a RB in the NFL. That was until the Showtime Rams gave Todd Gurley the exact deal Bell had been looking for, and that might’ve been the last straw. Bell didn’t show up to training camp for the second consecutive year, but unlike last year, he didn’t show up once the games started. And now we’re here, mid-October and Bell is nowhere to be found and there is no end in sight to this holdout.
How come the Steelers didn’t eventually give into Bell’s demands once they realized how serious he was? There are a few reasons as to why they didn’t. One of the biggest reasons is that running backs are not valued that much in the NFL like they used to be. I know Todd Gurley received a huge contract this off-season but he is more an outlier than the average. He’s only 24, extremely durable, and has developed into not just one of the best RB in the league but perhaps one of the best players in the NFL. Other than Gurley, however, running backs just don’t get paid very much or for very long. The reason for this is because most running backs start declining around the age of 27-28. Once they hit 30 they usually are ineffective or a shell of their former selves. Even when running backs are in their prime, they still don’t have the impact that they used to have. The NFL is a passing league and has been for a few seasons now. Star running backs do not mean anything unless you have a good quarterback. Look at a team like the New England Patriots or Philadelphia Eagles. Neither one of them have one star running back. They rely on committees that are full of just solid players. They do this because it’s cheaper, more efficient, and allows the offense to be more open since they aren’t focused on giving the ball to one person all the time. It’s honestly harder to for defenses to gameplan against. Star running backs like Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson, and Leonard Fournette create all sorts of highlight plays and always stuff the stat sheets but do they really have that big of an impact in the win column? The answer is no. All of those player’s teams I just mentioned are either bad or average. Some of you might say “But it’s not their fault. They don’t have a QB or an offensive line or good defense or a good coach”. And you’re exactly right, all of those running backs could use at least one of those excuses, but at the same time it is proving my point. Running backs cannot win you games by themselves. Are they important? Yes, but running backs alone are not nearly as important as a QB, offensive line, defense, or coach is. You can win just as many games with an average running back as you could with a star running back as long as you have a decent offensive line and competent quarterback.
Most teams would love to have a star running back to go alongside with their good QB, o-line, or defense because who wouldn’t, but when that running back starts demanding a ton of money (cap space) teams have to be honest about how much they value the running back position. Why pay someone $15 million per year when someone else could have the same impact on the team for only $4 million? It’s simple economics and finances. Unfortunately, Le’Veon Bell’s agent must not understand that principle. That’s what the Steelers realized. They understood that their offense is loaded with talent. With players like Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and more, Pittsburgh knew they were going to be able to put up points with or without Le’Veon Bell. The stats even back it up. Coming into this season the Steelers averaged per game more passing yards, rushing touchdowns, passing touchdowns, and had a higher winning percentage without Le’Veon Bell in the lineup. Obviously, all stats should be taken with a grain of salt but it does add some compelling evidence to this theory. The theory that the Steelers don’t really need Le’Veon Bell. Yes, would the offense be a bit splashier with him in the lineup? Probably, but they seem to do better as a team with him off the field and his replacement is doing just as good as he did. That’s the other reason why the Steelers are not panicking about his absence. James Conner, who they drafted in the third round out of Pittsburgh in the 2017 draft, has been great for the Steelers this year. In fact, Conner has over 50 more total yards and 2 more total touchdowns through the first five weeks of this season than Bell did during the first five weeks of last season. Those stats can be taken out of context, but it still goes to show that the Steelers are getting essentially the same production out of a guy that they are paying $800,000 a year while Le’Veon is demanding $17 million. The Steelers simply don’t need Le’Veon Bell anymore.
Even if Le’Veon ends his holdout tomorrow and rejoins the team, he’s not guaranteed the job he once had. It’ll take him at least a week or two to get back into playing shape, and the team seems to have fallen in love with Conner which is quite the opposite for how they feel about Bell. With Conner producing well and having the support of the locker room, Bell would have to come back playing on fire in order to regain his job completely by the end of the season. This makes me wonder why Le’Veon would decide to holdout like this during a crucial contract year. His value is dropping every game he doesn’t play. I understand he doesn’t want to get hurt like Earl Thomas did a few weeks ago, but there comes a point when you have to perform to prove your worth. The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” league and this offseason teams aren’t going to be impressed with his numbers as of now. Bell isn’t getting any younger. He’ll 28 by the end of next season with lots of wear and tear, and he’s starting to enter the last few years of production. The last time any team saw him play, it appeared that his play was already starting to decline. He seems to be a distraction and not a team player. Again, let’s not forget that he’s a running back so there are plenty of younger, cheaper options that can put up similar numbers as him. Even if he comes back this year and plays at an All-Pro level (which is extremely unlikely), he still will have damaged his value so much that teams won’t even sniff at his $17 million per year demands. That $17 million would be taken away from a QB salary, an offensive lineman, or a premier defensive player. That is like a team purchasing their own grave. They’d be paying him that much money probably until he turns 31 or 32. Only Frank Gore can be the same running back even after he turned 30. All that money for all those years just to win perhaps one more game than you would have with somebody else. It just isn’t smart. Maybe he was worth that much when he first asked for it a couple of years ago but not anymore.
As harsh as it is, the Steelers have honestly played Le’Veon and his agent. They got some amazing years out of him during his prime, they prolonged his career in Pittsburgh without having to commit long-term, and found a cheap replacement that makes him expendable. It is a harsh process, but the NFL is a business. The Steelers knew exactly what they were doing. I credit them for not falling into the pressure of assuming that they had to give into Bell’s demands. We’ve seen plenty of other teams do this in the past and it always came back to haunt them. Yes, it seems to be a distraction outside of the locker room, but honestly, I don’t think anyone really cares about it anymore inside the locker room. They like James Conner and they’re starting to get back to their winning ways, and not to mention that the money the team is saving by not paying Bell is going to go into their pockets instead.
It is unfortunate to see such a great player have such a fall as this. I have no idea when, or if, Bell will ever come back this season, but I don’t think it matters. I think he’s going to have to move to another team next offseason while accepting much less money than he could have if he would’ve just accepted one of the Steeler’s offers. I’m all for betting on yourself and I love to see players getting paid what they’re worth, but at the same time I understand how the game works. Sometimes you have to take a step back and honestly evaluate yourself and see what you’re really worth. Why pay extra for something when a younger, cheaper option can do the same thing? That’s how the market works. I’m afraid Le’Veon Bell will never realize that and if he has then it’s already too late. Sometimes it’s better to swallow your pride than to prove others wrong, but we’ve seen this tragic movie play out many times before. I truly believe that the Steelers knew exactly what they were doing all the way back to the 2016 offseason. They realized what his actual worth was and decided to play his little game for a couple of seasons, but knew what the outcome was going to be all along. Despite what all the media might say, they’re making the right decision. Sorry Le’Veon, you’ve been played.
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