Pittsburgh Steelers: Arguing the defense of Le’Veon Bell

Le’Veon Bell has been dragged through the court of public opinion in negative ways, and it’s about time somebody stood up for the Pittsburgh Steelers back.

Aside from being a swiss army knife for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Le’Veon Bell is a renaissance-man off the field as well. From his ability to maneuver social media (nearly three million followers between his twitter and instagram accounts) to his side-career as a rapper, Bell has pieced together quite the interesting life for a 26-year old.

In the studio, he is accustomed to dropping heat on practically everything he records. However, his bars are no match for the heat he receives by practically anybody supporting the Steelers organization for refusal of a long-term deal that didn’t financially agree with him.

Those people, by all means of fan logic, are understandably upset. Most of Pittsburgh sings to the tune of the following: How dare a running back, a position that is notorious for being interchangeable more than batteries, want $15 million a season? Why is he sitting out? Antonio Brown never held out of training camp. Just save the money, trade him for draft picks and improve the defense.

Being brutally honest, the above mentioned are all some-what fair points. Recent Super Bowl teams have used a much cheaper committee approach when it comes to pounding the rock, and Bell did indeed take few weeks to return to form after not playing a single snap in preseason action. Additionally, Brown indeed did not sit out like Bell did in 2017, and was made the highest paid player at his position in due time.

This thought process has certainly cast Bell in a negative light, despite attempts by him and other running backs to defend him.

Bell has received nothing but hate through a vast majority of fans in the court of public opinion, whether for right or wrong. However, we have yet to truly see anybody take sides with Bell, or at least explain his thought process. It’s about time for the defense of Le’Veon Bell to present their case.

What many tend to forget, due to us being wrapped around the finger of a football league every week in the fall is that, for athletes like Bell, this is their job. They may not clock in from nine to five for 40 hours a week, but this is how they make their living. Sure, their jobs are far better and more desirable than your average person, yet their careers are far shorter. Most players are lucky to make it beyond three years of playing.

So when your time is limited in this league, you want to cash out as much as you can. Typically players like Bell are only able to cash out once in their career following their rookie deal, seeing as though running backs are simply not as effective over the age of 30. The man, understandably, wants to make the most of the window currently open for him.

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The war Bell is waging with the Steelers isn’t just for him, however. He believes running backs are treated as minorities in the league, upholding that they are consistently overused and underpaid. With Bell’s rookie deal now in the books and the power of negotiation now on his side, he has a chance to set the standard for all running backs moving forward. Don’t think for a second the likes of Todd Gurley, David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliot aren’t watching this situation closely for their own benefit down the road. This saga between Bell and the Steelers extends far beyond the hashmarks of Heinz Field.

"“I want to be a guy who sets the market for running backs,” Bell said to Bleacher Report “I feel like running backs don’t get the value we deserve.”"

While this argument is for the entire landscape of running backs, not many are able to do what Bell consistently does at the high level he performs at. He doubles as both a threat on the ground and through the air as well, accruing over 400 touches in 2017 in under 16 games. Bell’s ability to line up out of the backfield and run through the tackles or work out of the slot and run routes dictates him as one of not only the best running backs in the game, but one of the most dangerous players on that side of the ball.

Thus the logic becomes: If I’m doing the work of both a running back and receiver, shouldn’t I be properly compensated for it? Bell originally came out and stated he wanted $15 million annually. There have been rumors of him wanting $17 million, but this has yet to be confirmed by Bell himself. The paycheck Bell is seeking is unheard of for players at his position, and honestly, that’s a lot of cap to devote to a player that up until 2017 had only completed a full season once in his career due to injuries/suspension.

The Steelers understood this and played it to their advantage in negotiations last season. Understandably so, the team was weary of paying such high figures to a player that struggled to stay healthy and battled suspensions in the early stages of his career. The organization, of course, would love for Bell to remain in black and gold for the rest of his playing career.

Yet they weren’t quite ready to hand over the money in 2017, as they needed him to prove he was capable of both staying healthy, and producing while staying out of trouble. It was from the understanding that should Bell continue his tremendous play, he would rightfully be compensated the following off-season by the Steelers.

So that’s what Bell did. He signed the franchise tag, essentially bet on himself on what was deemed a “prove it” year by the Steelers and finished with nearly 1,300 rushing yards along with 85 receptions for 655 receiving yards as well. Bell performed and held up his end of the bargain, and many thought the Steelers would finally fork up a nice payday for their superstar back.

As the season concluded and it came time to begin negotiations, Bell made clear that while he felt good about talks with the team, he was still standing on his original intents. Fast forward a couple weeks and the Steelers failed to reach an agreement with Le’Veon and slapped the tag on him for a second straight season, proving that they too were holding their ground.

Now that the initial wave of free agency has come and gone, general manager Kevin Colbert reportedly tabled any contract talks with Bell for the time being, but still remains confident about a new deal being reached.

How confident? Enough confidence to meet and have dinner with LSU running back Derrius Guice, a prospect that seems to be gaining momentum with the Steelers as the 2018 NFL Draft will take place in less than a month. Pittsburgh indeed does have real interest in Guice in the first round, and what more coincidental timing for Colbert’s comments in regards to Bell’s contract situation.

Now Bell is left sitting here, still without a contract after doing what was asked of him on the field and his potential replacement dining with his team’s front office. Unless the Steelers are somehow able to either convince him to take a paycut or pay him in full, Bell will again be forced to run the risk of hurting himself before he is able to secure long-term financial stability for him and his family.

Sure, from the outside Bell can appear selfish. It’s common belief that football players need to do what’s best for their team because we as normal people make sacrifices for our own lines of work. Armchair quarterbacking is insanely fun, but it should be left at exactly that: Fun. Surely you would take a paycut just to play football on your favorite team, however it’s much easier to make these decisions when the actual spotlight is not upon us.

Should the Steelers pay Bell what he wants? That’s an entirely different argument for another day. Cap space is tight around the steel city, as the team already had difficulty getting beneath the cap with Bell’s current franchise tag. The likelihood of the Steelers extending Bell, at this point in time, appears to fluctuate more towards no than yes.

Bell is heralded for his patience and vision when carrying the football. Patience has nearly worn thin in the negotiation rooms, as Bell has the chance to set the mark for a whole generation of running backs in the future. Fans don’t blame the Steelers for doing what’s best for the team, so why should they be so upset when a player puts himself first?

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The NFL is first and foremost a business, one that requires a lifetime of physical sacrifice for a short time span. Bell simply wants to ensure he and his family are set up for the future, similar to what the rest of us are currently doing (but on a much, much smaller scale). Make no mistake, he will see his payday in 2019, regardless if it’s from Pittsburgh or another team with the cap space to do so.

So while you log on to your social media and call Le’Veon Bell selfish, it’s vital to understand his thought process/reasoning before doing so. It’s bigger than Xs and Os.