See you Space Cowboy ...
Juju is a stalker fan. LMAO. He is a fun dude. I'd rather see him being goofy and playing around in the offseason than getting in trouble.
This whole thing is going to get far more ridiculous before it ends. Latest reports have 3 teams offering Kirk Cousins 90 million FULLY GUARANTEED. That's a game changer for NFL contracts. Wanna guess what Bell's new benchmark will be?
No need to reply with logic and reason -- this scenario has left that realm several contract proposals ago.
Don't post often but read a lot. You guys know this stuff so help me. Why does Bell get $14.5 mil when we franchised him
if the franchise tag means the average of the top five in that position and the top is Freeman at $8.5 mil? Does it have to
do with his WR skills?
I had the same question last year. Going by average salary, the franchise tag for RB last year should've been something like $6.5-$7M. Going by cap hit, it was about $7-$7.5 if I recall. Instead, the tag cost us $12M, which would be the average of the top 1 plus an extra 50 percent. Seems like they did their math wrong, but what do I know.
Then this year's salary is based on 120 percent of last year's incorrect tag number, so at least there's an explanation. Still wondering why it was so far out of their stated guidelines last season to get here, though.
See you Space Cowboy ...
Argument in Bell's favor that the free agent market is placing higher value on backs with receiving skills as part of the $$$$ being thrown around in free agency
The San Francisco 49ers will sign former Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon to a four-year, $30 million deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter....
After Dalvin Cook went down with a torn ACL in Week 4, McKinnon became part of one of the best running back tandems in the league alongside Latavius Murray. From Week 5 on, McKinnon averaged 3.9 yards per rush, gaining 544 yards on 140 carries while catching 43 passes for 381 yards.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...rancisco-49ers
Bell's bargaining position on $$$ certainly is not going down after the FA RB signings
Well, that's looking like it's someone else's problem next March, cause he sure doesn't want to sign here.Bell's bargaining position on $$$ certainly is not going down after the FA RB signings
I wonder if he gets a kick out of all the drama and that's part of it too? "Oh yeah, drama about money means I'm a big baller, which means I'm a big rapper," that kind of thing. Who the hell knows what's going on in his head.
See you Space Cowboy ...
Still not seeing how an average $7.5 mil per year signing is anywhere near the 16 he's asking. He should have jumped to sign that 14 mil deal last year. Still would have been more than 5 mil more than the 2nd guy on the list.
See you Space Cowboy ...
Please don't read this as "Mojouw's totally arguing for signing Bell to a 16 million a year deal." I'm not. BUT...AtlantaDan makes an excellent point - the stupid money being thrown around in FA is strengthening Bell's argument.
Bell put up twice the stats as McKinnon. Plays a ton more snaps - in fact he plays more snaps than just about anyone at RB. If McKinnon is worth 7.5 - Bell's #'s basically justify doubling that. There is 15 million.
I can't find the #'s on Crowell's new contract with the Jets. I also can not find the rumored details of a Duke Johnson extension (another back that puts up receiver #'s like Bell but plays 1/3 to 1/2 the snaps). Those two will set the "floor" for any Bell extension.
The only real question is not whether or not Bell and his agent can make a rationale case for his contract demands, it is whether or not any NFL team should devote low end QB money to a RB? Now an argument can be made that it is better to spend the cash on a guy like Bell than Mike Glennon or Blake Bortles. But QB money is still QB money...
Agreed - I would not pay what Bell is demanding given the financial risk that it can end on one play for a RB unlike a QB and how fast a RB can decline - just saying Bell's position on his market value is more defensible now than it was a week ago, which further reduces the highly unlikely possibility of a long term deal being negotiated
The Jets are signing Isaiah Crowell. I really wished we would have signed him and let Bell walk. We could use that money to fill a lot of defensive holes and not miss that much between Crowell and Bell.
Crowell certainly could pick right up on being high maintenance
He does come with some baggage. He was kicked out of the University of Georgia after a firearm arrest in 2012. Then, in 2016 he posted a disturbing anti-police image to Instagram.
https://nypost.com/2018/03/13/jets-p...ree-year-deal/
Plus any world where there isn't a yawning chasm in terms of talent gap between Crowell and Bell is just a fantasy land.
Again, NOT an endorsement of paying Bell a massive contract, but to argue the team wouldn't miss much is simply ludicrous. Swapping the two players would totally revise the Steelers offensive philosophy.
Now all of that may be okay and it may, in fact, be a far better use of cap resources to move on from Bell and apply those dollars elsewhere -- but let's at least acknowledge that Bell is like a 10 at RB and Crowell is a 6 at best.
His talent would be "missed" but mostly from a fantasy football standpoint. That's what the evidence shows: 11-4 without him and the same points scored with or without him. Those are facts.
And no way is Bell (4.0 YPC) a 10 when he has only 3 runs longer than 20 yards last year and the longest being 27.
first let me say I am completely opposed to anything north of 12 million a year for Any RB .....
but kind of thinking out loud here , I wonder if bell would sign a contract at his number ( whatever that number is 15 -16 mill ) a year with a poison pill in the contract wording that states any suspension for drugs or any other reason completely absolves the team of his future contract obligations and any and all money paid forward in the deal ( bonus's signing or otherwise ) would need to be returned to the team and null and voids any contractual guarantees ....
My best guess is NO he would not sign that deal but I digress
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
The drop in YPC isn’t a lack of talent, it’s teams figuring out how to play his stop start style of running and taking advantage of the Steelers blocking schemes. Teams are shifting gaps, overplaying gaps and the offense doesn’t evolve...they stand pat and do what they do (as usual) and the defenses take advantage. Definitely not because he was breaking down...not yet at least.
Where he will be missed most is in the pass game. Endless amount of times that Bell bailed Ben out. You can’t just replace a player like that in one years draft or off a free agent pile. Not saying he’s worth all that money but people think it’s so easy just to let him walk...if you’re gonna let him walk, how are you replacing him? Connor, Fitz, Ridley? I don’t think so...
That's kinda what I am getting at.
For better or worse, this is what Bell does:
1. PLays 950+ offensive snaps. Second behind only Ben R.
2. A 1000 yard RB and a 500-600 yard WR with 50-70 catches.
You aren't replacing that with one guy. Or even two guys. If Bell is no longer on the roster, the Steelers would have to change their fundamental approach on offense to a degree. That's fine. But to "replace" Bell (it is a more or shifting of responsibilities) they would need the following:
1. Another RB for 1st and 2nd down to pair with the unknown that is Conner.
2. A passing game back that can also run a bit.
3. A TE or WR to emerge as that possession style safety valve in the pass game. Juju? Vance McD? Draft pick?
None of that mandates that you meet his contract demands. But play this part out in your head for fun and anger --- How much of Bell's requested 15+ would the team have to pay out to acquire FAs to replace him? How many draft picks? What is the real savings at the end of that calculation. It certainly isn't the whole 15 million.
In a similar situation, Miami shed Landry and his tag. That saved $16 million. They then signed Albert Wilson for $8 million per year and Amendola for $6 million per year (rough numbers). So they saved $2 million dollars. I'm sure with guarantees and other things it is a bit better cap situation than the tag and they have cost certainty moving forward. But they also employ a injury prone Amendola and an unproven Wilson instead of the human catch machine known as Jarvis Landry. The situation is eerily similar. Tag seems to dangerously overvalue the player, spread things out so one guy isn't so critical, etc. etc.
That's the equivalent of a drop in talent. He doesn't have the speed to hit the hole fast and get separation from the defense. If a QB is successful at one thing but defenses figure him out after a year or two and he goes downhill, then it's on the player. Same with Bell.
>>>>>>> Steelers record without Bell 11-4......Offense averages SAME number of Points with/without Bell<<<<<<<<<
Shot across the bow by Colbert
The Pittsburgh Steelers are putting contract negotiations with running back Le'Veon Bell on hold while focusing on free agency and the NFL draft....
General manager Kevin Colbert said the team will eventually continue the dialogue with Bell's reps, but there's no update on a deal....
More urgent business needs to get taken care of," Colbert said from the NFL owners meetings in Orlando. "We will reassess where that is. He'll reassess where his interests are as well. I anticipate us continuing that process once we get through the free agency period and maybe even through the draft. The draft can change things on both sides."
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...ft-free-agency
Rescind the tag. Find a RB in FA and draft another. Preferably at least one who can catch the ball out of the backfield