Only minutes remain until the 4 p.m. ET deadline for Le’Veon Bell to report to the Steelers. But Adam Schefter of ESPN reports it’s a done deal: The running back will sit out the season.
Missing the deadline makes Bell ineligible to play this season.
Bell refused to sign the one-year, $14.54 million tender for this season after the Steelers franchised him a second consecutive season.
He will become a free agent in March. Franchising Bell again would cost the Steelers quarterback money, and the transition tag would merely delay the inevitable.
Thus, Bell assures he is healthy for a big pay day in 2019 by missing the 2018 season.