Philadelphia Eagles: Do not overpay for Le’Veon Bell
By Jeremy Klump
The Philadelphia Eagles may need Le’Veon Bell, but they should not overpay for the running back and give him the monster contract he is looking for.
There is one name that has dominated Philadelphia Eagles Twitter looking at the 2019 offseason: former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. The two-time All-Pro running back sat out the entire 2018 NFL season looking for a new contract from the Steelers that never came, which has led to them allowing him to walk away as a free agent this offseason.
The move to sit out the entire season was an interesting one, as Bell lost a ton of money and created drama for a majority of the season.
Now that the drama is over, Bell has started even more drama by using Twitter to spark fan bases to want his services on their team. One of them being the Eagles’ fan base. The big question is this: Should the Eagles break the bank and give Bell the massive contract he is looking for?
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The answer is a definitive, emphatic “No.” I was against them trading for him last season, and I am again against them signing him (for big money) this offseason.
Bell is arguably the best running back in the NFL from a talent standpoint. However, the NFL is not just all about talent. Bell may be a great running back who can pay all three downs and can catch the ball like a wide receiver, but he also has a lot of red flags off of the field. These red flags off the field are the biggest reason the Eagles should not spend a ton of money on him.
Yes, theoretically, Bell on the Eagles with quarterback Carson Wentz would be amazing. The Eagles have needed a running back that can carry the load and take some of the pressure off of Wentz. Having a running back by committee is fine, but it just doesn’t beat having a stud running back you can trust the entire game and not have to worry about who the hot hand will be. So then, why wouldn’t the Eagles not pay him big money so they can pair him with Wentz?
I talked about it during the season when I thought it would be a bad idea to trade for Bell, but some of those points still stand.
For one, Bell has been suspended twice in his career and has also been proven to be injury prone. When a player has been suspended a couple of times in the NFL, there is a higher chance they get suspended again than there is that they don’t. If a team is going to pay a player big money, they need to trust them, and it feels like it would be hard to truly trust Bell.
His injuries also have caused him miss games. He has missed 18 total games in his career due to suspension (5) and injury (13). It would be a major risk to count on having him for all 16 games in a season, especially if you are likely making him the highest paid running back in the NFL.
Bell has also been overused during his time in Pittsburgh. If there was one positive to Bell sitting out the entire season, it was the fact that he actually got a break from being overworked. Bell has 1,541 touches in the 62 regular season games he has played in, or almost 25 per game. Adding in his playoff totals and his college workload, he has 2,395 touches since 2010. At 27 years old, how many more years does Bell have at his elite ability?
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The risk of paying Bell is definitely boom or bust, so both sides are easy to understand. However, the Eagles can spend that big money in other important places. A trade for Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson or draft a running back in the first or second round would be better options. Then they are able to add even more pieces to their puzzle.
Who knows what will happen, but luckily we will find out next week. If the Eagles give Bell a monster deal, it could be one that they regret for a long time. However, if Howie Roseman is able to work his magic and somehow get Bell to take a one-year, prove it deal — or a long-term deal with a team opt out after two years — it may be something to look into. But the Eagles should not overpay for Bell and sign him to a monster deal that straps them financially.