Who will make a play for Le’Veon Bell?

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With Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell not playing this year and, in turn, in play to be signed by the highest bidder in March, the question becomes who will the highest bidder be?

Key football factors include needing a high-end tailback and having a willingness to let him be a workhorse. Significant cash and cap space is a given.

From a business standpoint, the teams that chase Bell will be looking to create buzz, sell tickets, win headlines, and establish a sense of hope for 2019 and beyond.

Teams to watch most closely include the Jets, Dolphins, Ravens, Browns, Colts, Raiders, Broncos, Eagles, Washington, Packers, and Buccaneers.

The Jets should be the team to watch the most closely, depending on who the coach will be in 2019. Unless the next coach will be planning to use a rotation at running back, Bell would definitely make sense — if the overriding goal is to get the fans motivated to part ways with their money.

74 responses to “Who will make a play for Le’Veon Bell?

  1. “and having a willingness to let him be a workhorse”.

    Um, I think Bell has shown that he does not want to be a workhorse. He seems to want to show up, get a huge contract and playing only when he feels like it.

  2. I would think Mr. Bell would prefer to play his games on grass. And warm weather if possible.

  3. I think he’s going to be unpleasantly surprised. No doubt teams will make offers but the huge, long-term, largely guaranteed deal he’s been wanting will be hard to find. Nobody has seen him play in a whole year. Will he show up in shape? Will he slack off if he gets the big contract? Teams are going to be concerned about those things.

  4. Why would the Packers, Colts or Browns ever overpay for a player who clearly doesn’t fit their culture and why are you ignoring the fact that these 3 teams have legitimate studs at RB for the fraction of the cost it would take to get Bell. Aaron Jones, Nick Chubb + Duke Johnson and Marlon Mack+Nyheim Hines offer better versatility and production than Bell does. John Dorsey worked for the Packers, he also built the Chiefs through the draft and Chris Ballard has worked closely with Dorsey in KC. They will continue building through the draft. I know it’s nitpicking but clearly not a lot of analysis was put in this article

  5. who cares if anyone signs him. whomever does will surely regret it if they put up lot of guaranteed money because once he gets paid he will be hurt. In other words M O N E Y
    for nothing.

  6. No one cares where Bell goes. The interest is 100% what the contract is.

    He’ll not get something like his franchise tag and he won’t get enough to make up what he’s out this year.

  7. Creating a buzz, selling tickets and winning headlines has almost nothing to do with putting together a winning formula for, you know, actually winning football games.

    You know what sells tickets, winning football games.
    It also creates buzz and grabs headlines, but I digress.

    There will be a couple of teams interested in participating in this, but not nearly the amount that this article insinuates.
    The Jets are a good as guess as anybody.
    It’s New York and these kind of things are apparently important there.

    And, of course, Bell will get paid, he’ll be paid well, but I have a hunch he’ll eventually be somewhat insulted by the offer he’s forced to sign.
    And he’ll probably regret not pocketing an extra 15 mil. he turned his nose up to this season.
    Though he, nor some of the reporters on this site will admit it.

  8. I have a feeling he wont get offers for as much as what the Steelers were offering this offseason. He has shown himself to not be a team player and to be selfish.

  9. I’m not sure that the majority of the NFL has reversed the general theory that running backs just aren’t worth $15 million+ a year against the cap, even for great ones. Then you add in that this guy may not have the best attitude towards heavy use and it really makes you wonder what teams will commit such a large chunk of their cap to this running back. Aren’t the Steelers now showing with their new starting back why teams shied away from high cost runners? They seem to be more easily replaceable than other positions.

  10. Id like to say Id be surprised if any team goes after him, at his asking price. But one team will. Despite the fact that plenty of teams who’ve been successful and won Super Bowls in recent years, dont succeed because they overpaid a runningback. If I were running a team, Runningback would not be high on my list of areas to improve or beef up. And certainly not for $10 million a year or higher.

  11. Sadly for him, this is a passing dominated league right now. He will not be the highest paid player in the nfl. He’ll be lucky to get much more than what the steelers offered. After sitting out all year, I fully believe teams will be hesitant to spend big money on his big ego.

  12. Sniff Sniff…. Florio is headed for more collusion talk if teams aren’t beating down his door!! Don’t forget Bell just fought the system teams may just choose to draft a rookie running back i. e. Nick Chubb and pay pennies on Bell’s dollar!

  13. Most teams already realize Bell is a product of Pittsburgh’s offensive line play.
    They see,like the rest of us, what James Conner is doing this year. But it takes only one team.

  14. A big splashy signing is Mike Tannenbaum’s first love. I’m hoping the Dolphins get smart and don’t give him the opportunity.

  15. it’s a stupid time to sit out with so many young RB’s doing so well. Why screw up cap for a 2-3 yr player. If someone over pays him they will lose their job.

  16. If he is looking at money only, then he will go to the highest bidder. If he is looking to win, then he won’t be looking at any of the teams listed here.

  17. Who needs a locker room cancer like this guy, and also willing to pay for the “privilege?”

  18. Bell will be a tampa bay buccaneer..they are missing a RB badly and they were going to go balls deep to sign him last year but he was tagged. Now they will be sign him and he will complament OJ Howard and Mike Evans and Cameron Brate and Chris Godwin. You heard it here first.

  19. Whichever team signs Bell will certainly have some heads scratching.
    I just don’t see him being a fit for Belichick especially for the price
    Le’Veon will be asking, also don’t see really any top teams that would overpay –
    I believe he will land in either Indy or Philadelphia but there’s other team that
    have a bad habit of overpaying locker room problems just to fill seats!

  20. viperstournaments says:
    November 13, 2018 at 6:58 pm
    Players that sit out the year should be sentenced to play for the Browns the following year…. that’ll teach ‘em.

    Hahahaha….. that’s real funny!
    You been watching any football this season, genius?

  21. fascinating how we all judge this guy…..

    If he blew out a knee, no one would give a crap, but a guy, excels, takes a stand on his contract, completely his business, all the jealously comes raging out.

    Funny how a guy is wonderful until he asks for money….? I guess no one here has any problem with the NCAA. Who cares, teams will make the decision, and they can afford it….

    Good for him, he has a talent, worked his ass off, and took advantage of it. Many in the world, never live up to their potential
    Just because you didn’t capitalize on a talent or didn’t have it at all, just stope sounding spouting off.

    Tell you what, next time your contract comes up, lets put it up for review here on PFT…..

  22. From a business standpoint, the teams that chase Bell will be looking to create buzz, sell tickets, win headlines, and establish a sense of hope for 2019 and beyond.

    “Miami Dolphins come on down!!!”

  23. If he doesn’t get a 100 million dollar contract you’re start carrying on about collusion.

  24. Ravens. They’ll dump Flacco & his bloated contract & after Harbaugh is fired they will run a RPO offense with Jackson. Carolina North.

  25. pbdisciple says:
    November 13, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    I would think Mr. Bell would prefer to play his games on grass.
    ——————

    That’s part of his problem. Oh, were you talking about the playing surface?

  26. So we go from anti-owner pro-player get what you’re worth in a previous post to which team will be looking to make a big splash by signing Bell to put people in the seats with false hope. Make up your mind Florio. The only team that signs Bell will be looking for the latter, you know this.
    He’ll get signed by some long time garbage team. Looking at you Jets, Washington racial slurs, Lions, Raiders…ect…ect. You’ll get people’s hopes up, but in the end it will get you no success or championships. Good luck with that.

  27. Teams are going to question his love of football, between suspensions and taking a season of its fair to to wonder. he also has a lot of of injury history.

    ELITE RBs are a luxury, teams in the last decade have won Superbowls with guys like, Blount, James White, James Starks, Monty Ball, and Marshawn Lynch being the most notable name.

    RBs are also the easiest position to transition to for young athletes even if its only for a few seasons, look at guys like Karrem Hunt, David Johnson, and Aaron Jones… even what Connor is doing for the Steelers.

    If you want to beef up the running game it goes a lot further to have a great offense line and an average running back than an average Oline and a great RB.

  28. The Jets have drafted poorly for years so have a ton of cap money.
    PLus their GM Mike Maccagnans job is on the line so why not sign him even if its bad for the team long term. The question is – will he pack it in like Revis and Mohamed Wilkerson?

  29. Whoever it is will probably be dumb enough to give him a TON of guaranteed money and a huge signing bonus. Then they’ll watch as Bell fakes an injury so he doesn’t have to play.

    I saw a clip in which Rex Ryan said nobody in the Steelers locker room misses him. If that is indeed true why would any team want this guy? He’s just going to get all the money he can then turn into Albert Haynesworth.

  30. He turned down the opportunity to be the highest-paid back in the league for a consistent playoff contender. He gave up a year of what for backs is usually a relatively short career. I don’t really care what he does, as long as he doesn’t do it in Pittsburgh. Good riddance.

  31. Why would the Packers overpay for Bell when they have Aaron Jones on a much better contract? You don’t bring in a guy that only thinks about himself for a ton of money that could be spent elsewhere. The Packers have a lot of holes, and running back isn’t one of them.

    Thinking the Packers will break the bank for Bell is moronic. I’ll take Jones and his team first attitude over Bell and his me first attitude anyday, especially when the gap between the two is narrowing every week with Jones playing and Bell sitting on his ass dreaming about piles of money that his offensive line earned for him. If Bell was as great as he thinks, his backup wouldn’t be having such a great year.

  32. shaggytoodle says:
    November 13, 2018 at 8:40 pm

    ELITE RBs are a luxury, teams in the last decade have won Superbowls with guys like, Blount, James White, James Starks, Monty Ball, and Marshawn Lynch being the most notable name.

    —————————————————

    There is also sample size to consider. Only 1 team out of 32 wins the Super Bowl each year. Elite RBs are a rare breed with probably no more than 4-5 in the league right now, depending on whom is doing the grading. Gurley, Kamara, Elliott and Bell would probably make my list. Others might wanna include David Johnson and Hunt. I see them in the next tier group but would concede that point for the sake of debate here. If one looks at those 6 backs, it could be argued that 4 of them play or played (in Bell’s case) on serious Super Bowl contenders for multiple seasons each. And there is a pretty fair chance we could see one of them on this years Super Bowl Champion.

  33. kelinte1 says:
    November 13, 2018 at 7:46 pm
    fascinating how we all judge this guy…..

    If he blew out a knee, no one would give a crap, but a guy, excels, takes a stand on his contract, completely his business, all the jealously comes raging out.

    Funny how a guy is wonderful until he asks for money….? I guess no one here has any problem with the NCAA. Who cares, teams will make the decision, and they can afford it…
    __________________

    I don’t judge if he is happy watching his team have a successful season without him more power to him, I still feel part of this is the Vikings fault, he looks to his college teammate Kirk Cousins fully gur contract… and tells teams you can’t tell me I am not better at football than Kirk Cousins, and feels he should be paid more.

    I know positions are different and all that, and the RB position he is WAY overplaying his hand. If he didn’t want the franchise offer the Steelers claim to offered him a 70 mil gur contract for multiple seasons. He is wasting a prime year of his career… so if thats what makes him happy so be it.

    He comes off as selfish, while he does have great talent that OL has shown that they definitely make life easier for him or any other RB that they are creating holes for.

  34. No team should reward him by giving him big money for giving the Steelers the middle finger. Low ball him in the hope he sits out a 2nd year. See how he likes that.

  35. I hope it isn’t the skins that do it, I don’t think we will since we will have Guice returning and could sign Peterson if he continues to play as he has. Skins have alot of players coming up we need to sign and keep, Id rather keep the home grown talent.

  36. Bell has shown he wants to relax, not play football. The Browns are fine with the RB position and don’t need an overweight, out of shape Prima Donna.

  37. I can see the Jets and Raiders wanting to make a splash. I also see the Ratbirds and whoever their new GM is to want to stick it to the Stealers. All 3 seem to be a good fit.
    Don’t count out Danny Snyder down in DC.

  38. The Browns have Chubb and Duke. Suggesting they’ll be in the market for Bell is just lazy.

  39. He will be next years Dez Bryant. He will end up signing a one year, incentive laden contract after week 1. The last time a running back bet on himself like this was Peyton Hillis, and we all know how that ended.

  40. jaymormay says:
    November 13, 2018 at 7:19 pm
    Most teams already realize Bell is a product of Pittsburgh’s offensive line play.
    They see,like the rest of us, what James Conner is doing this year. But it takes only one team
    ———————————————————
    EXACTLY – most teams on Florio’s list would be better off keeping their current RB and spending their cap space on shoring up the OL (doing so would also upgrade their QB play). Bell is a luxury item that teams may be able to afford but few teams really need.

  41. ELITE RBs are a luxury, teams in the last decade have won Superbowls with guys like, Blount, James White, James Starks, Monty Ball, and Marshawn Lynch being the most notable name.
    ======

    One of the those names is NOTHING like the rest……..

  42. Invest in your team where it maters most, THE O-LINE. Do that and any RB, QB etc. will do well.

  43. Mike Wallace Mk II. Not in MIA I please. Good player but we are not good at getting the best out of star players. We need young hungry players with something to prove not oldies who get hurt and a big pay day.. We need depth not eggs all in one basket type of roster in the future.

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