Report: Le’Veon Bell won’t show up for Steelers’ OTAs

[hawaiiansteeler]

and yes, water is wet...

Report: Le’Veon Bell won’t show up for Steelers’ OTAs

Posted by Charean Williams on May 21, 2018

It would have created a bigger headline had Le'Veon Bell decided to show up for the Steelers’ organized team activities, but as expected, the Steelers running back won’t attend, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.

Bell remains unsigned after the team placed the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive year. Tom Brady, Julio Jones, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Donald are other big names around the league who are absent for voluntary offseason work.

to read rest of article:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...steelers-otas/

[BlackAndGold]

See you Week One Bell.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

He hasn't signed the tender, so technically isn't able to attend anyways. Non story.

[st33lersguy]

Yep because letting everyone know how pissed he is to be offered $14 mil a year is his highest priority right now

[Fire Goodell]

Wow what a surprise!

[Mojouw]

Considering they have 6 RBs to sort through, I don't think it'll matter much.

AB, Bell, and Ben are likely gonna get the shrink wrap treatment anyways.

Might be beneficial if he played a bit in training camp - might not.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/05...s-behind-bell/

[steelreserve]

He hasn't signed the tender, so technically isn't able to attend anyways. Non story.

I mean, he could always sign it and THEN work on a long-term deal, like a normal person. Bitching about it and doing things to spite the team doesn't make you any less franchise tagged or anyone willing to pay you any more money.

Honestly I'm so sick of the whole thing I just hope he gets caught with weed again and spares us the drama.

[Mojouw]

I mean, he could always sign it and THEN work on a long-term deal, like a normal person. Bitching about it and doing things to spite the team doesn't make you any less franchise tagged or anyone willing to pay you any more money.

Honestly I'm so sick of the whole thing I just hope he gets caught with weed again and spares us the drama.

Very few players sign their tenders and report until they have to. Whether it is effective or not, it is the only card they and their agent have to play to bring the team to the negotiating table.

While we as fans may hate it and grow weary of the noise, this is essentially the exact same dance that every franchise player and team have gone through in the past few decades.

I mean Drew Brees heldout -- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drew-br...tag-grievance/

[86WARD]

I mean, he could always sign it and THEN work on a long-term deal, like a normal person. Bitching about it and doing things to spite the team doesn't make you any less franchise tagged or anyone willing to pay you any more money.

Honestly I'm so sick of the whole thing I just hope he gets caught with weed again and spares us the drama.

Most players don’t do that unless they know something...aka Jarvis Landry.

[steelreserve]

Very few players sign their tenders and report until they have to. Whether it is effective or not, it is the only card they and their agent have to play to bring the team to the negotiating table.

While we as fans may hate it and grow weary of the noise, this is essentially the exact same dance that every franchise player and team have gone through in the past few decades.

I mean Drew Brees heldout -- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drew-br...tag-grievance/

The card they have to bring the team to the negotiating table is keeping the player beyond the current season. If that's what the team wants, they have a huge incentive to work on a deal before July or whatever the deadline is. It doesn't matter whether the player throws a fit or not.

What does the player gain from not signing the deal? Being unprepared? Not having any guaranteed money at all in the meantime? Hey, great job.

While I don't think OTAs are the hugest deal in the world, I'm pretty sure most players on the franchise tag actually sign it in time for training camp because they're smart enough to know that it's in their own best interest to be ready for the season. Not to mention, there's a rule in place that specifically makes it so that the player gains nothing by holding out from training camp. It takes a special kind of stupid to do that, and says a lot about your attitude.

[Shoes]

How to get your money and stay a Steeler by AB

How to shit in your hat and then put it on your head by Bell

[Mojouw]

The card they have to bring the team to the negotiating table is keeping the player beyond the current season. If that's what the team wants, they have a huge incentive to work on a deal before July or whatever the deadline is. It doesn't matter whether the player throws a fit or not.

What does the player gain from not signing the deal? Being unprepared? Not having any guaranteed money at all in the meantime? Hey, great job.

While I don't think OTAs are the hugest deal in the world, I'm pretty sure most players on the franchise tag actually sign it in time for training camp because they're smart enough to know that it's in their own best interest to be ready for the season. Not to mention, there's a rule in place that specifically makes it so that the player gains nothing by holding out from training camp. It takes a special kind of stupid to do that, and says a lot about your attitude.

I really don't know how to put this other than the facts say otherwise. Not every one of these is on a franchise tag, but almost all of them shared the same variable as Bell - they had no real leverage left except to not report. This list is after only a quick look.

Brees heldout when tagged
Bowe held out
Bosa held out and he was negotiating his rookie deal!
Duane Brown held out
So did Aaron Donald - I believe he missed regular season games!
Von Miller threatened to holdout and skipped some portion of the off-season program.

From one point of view, Bell is like a veteran sitting on the free agent market. There are some guys every year that everyone knows are going to get signed but have no interest in doing it for OTAs and camp. Then they show up a few weeks before the season and play their way into shape.

Maybe Bell shows up for a few preseason games. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he never gets what he and his agent think he is worth. Maybe he does.

Bottom line, I suspect Bell and his agent are way off base with all this, but they are doing exactly what every other dissatisfied NFL player has done.

[DesertSteel]

See you Week One Bell.

And see you play well for the first time in week 4...

[steelreserve]

I really don't know how to put this other than the facts say otherwise. Not every one of these is on a franchise tag, but almost all of them shared the same variable as Bell - they had no real leverage left except to not report. This list is after only a quick look.

Brees heldout when tagged
Bowe held out
Bosa held out and he was negotiating his rookie deal!
Duane Brown held out
So did Aaron Donald - I believe he missed regular season games!
Von Miller threatened to holdout and skipped some portion of the off-season program.

From one point of view, Bell is like a veteran sitting on the free agent market. There are some guys every year that everyone knows are going to get signed but have no interest in doing it for OTAs and camp. Then they show up a few weeks before the season and play their way into shape.

Maybe Bell shows up for a few preseason games. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he never gets what he and his agent think he is worth. Maybe he does.

Bottom line, I suspect Bell and his agent are way off base with all this, but they are doing exactly what every other dissatisfied NFL player has done.

I thught Brees threatened to hold out, but got signed before the tag deadline, thereby avoiding it. And if you're not on the franchise tag, it's an apples-and-oranges situation because you are allowed to keep negotiating - there's a chance you might actually get paid more! So in that case it's actually understandable why someone might do it. With the franchise tag, you literally gain nothing, you are prohibited from negotiating after a certain date which is well before training camp. There is a world of difference in the reasoning, or lack thereof, between a regular holdout and a franchise tag holdout.

Yes, a lot of players will bitch about the franchise tag, threaten to hold out, etc., but I'd wager at least 95% of them still sign it and show up to training camp because they can see that even if they threatened to hold out, there is zero benefit to actually following through with it. As far as I know, Bell is the only one who did it this way. I know you tend to have the view that the players need to do whatever it takes to keep from being screwed over by the owners on money and job security, but this is not even a case where that applies. It's just a guy making a scene.

The real ass-kicker of it is that the team DOES want to sign him to a long-term deal and he doesn't even need to use anything else as leverage. And that he'd almost certainly have an easier time getting what he wanted (whether from us or another team) if he handled it logically instead of in a way that gives him the malcontent label.

[Mojouw]

I thught Brees threatened to hold out, but got signed before the tag deadline, thereby avoiding it. And if you're not on the franchise tag, it's an apples-and-oranges situation because you are allowed to keep negotiating - there's a chance you might actually get paid more! So in that case it's actually understandable why someone might do it. With the franchise tag, you literally gain nothing, you are prohibited from negotiating after a certain date which is well before training camp. There is a world of difference in the reasoning, or lack thereof, between a regular holdout and a franchise tag holdout.

Yes, a lot of players will bitch about the franchise tag, threaten to hold out, etc., but I'd wager at least 95% of them still sign it and show up to training camp because they can see that even if they threatened to hold out, there is zero benefit to actually following through with it. As far as I know, Bell is the only one who did it this way. I know you tend to have the view that the players need to do whatever it takes to keep from being screwed over by the owners on money and job security, but this is not even a case where that applies. It's just a guy making a scene.

The real ass-kicker of it is that the team DOES want to sign him to a long-term deal and he doesn't even need to use anything else as leverage. And that he'd almost certainly have an easier time getting what he wanted (whether from us or another team) if he handled it logically instead of in a way that gives him the malcontent label.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...e-tag-holdouts

Not the most recent of lists, but 30 seconds on the Google machines and there is a list of other prominent players that did the exact same thing that Bell is doing.

It isn't even a case of not getting screwed over. Bell has nothing to gain by coming in. He gets paid the same. Staying out allows him to not get injured (the absolute worst case scenario for him) and let's the team see if the rest of the RBs on the roster are enough of a downgrade from Bell to get another contract offer (total roll of the dice on Bell's part - what if someone is better?).

The team has every incentive to get him into camp. Continuity, learn the offense, etc. They know what they need to do to make that happen. If they don't feel it makes sense (and honestly with Bell's demands at this point, why would they?) then there will be no movement on the issue aside from some sniping in the media for 3 months or whatever it is until Week 1.

Interesting thought is that a quick tour through the interwebs only has Steeler focused sights that encourage Bell to come in. Most of the non-team focused sites simply state that why would Bell come in until the team changes its offer?

[steelreserve]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...e-tag-holdouts

Not the most recent of lists, but 30 seconds on the Google machines and there is a list of other prominent players that did the exact same thing that Bell is doing.

It isn't even a case of not getting screwed over. Bell has nothing to gain by coming in. He gets paid the same. Staying out allows him to not get injured (the absolute worst case scenario for him) and let's the team see if the rest of the RBs on the roster are enough of a downgrade from Bell to get another contract offer (total roll of the dice on Bell's part - what if someone is better?).

The team has every incentive to get him into camp. Continuity, learn the offense, etc. They know what they need to do to make that happen. If they don't feel it makes sense (and honestly with Bell's demands at this point, why would they?) then there will be no movement on the issue aside from some sniping in the media for 3 months or whatever it is until Week 1.

Interesting thought is that a quick tour through the interwebs only has Steeler focused sights that encourage Bell to come in. Most of the non-team focused sites simply state that why would Bell come in until the team changes its offer?

That list is from well before the July deadline for negotiating. As I said, I don't think it's that outlandish for someone to skip the very early meet-and-greet, fuck-around workouts and stuff at this point in the year. I do think it's very uncommon for anyone to do what Bell did last year, and will probably do again this year, which is skip the real practices and the real preseason where teams are doing their real preparations. Nobody does that on the franchise tag because there's no benefit to it for a tagged player. Find some examples of that specifically; I bet there are almost none.

No, players don't want to work extra for nothing, but anyone except an idiot understands that YOU, the player - not just the team and the owners and the fans - are significantly better off if you have your shit together at the start of the season. You'll have a better season and probably put yourself in a position for a better contract. What does Bell-Einstein not get about that? It was proven pretty succinctly last year.

I wonder what the non-Steeler sites will say when there is no chance that the Steelers change their offer, because they can't by league rule. Will it still be in his best interest not to come in then?

[IowaSteeler927]

Wow I'm so surprised!

Let him sit out OTA's and camp, don't really care at this point.

[pczach]

Wow I'm so surprised!

Let him sit out OTA's and camp, don't really care at this point.

My hope is that during preseason and once they're limiting his carries and trying to work him in when the season starts, one of the young guys tears it up whenever they get the chance. At that point, it would make perfect sense to get that player on the field more and play Bell a little less. It would give the team another threat at RB and a possible replacement. It would also keep Bell motivated and much fresher for the entire season.

I wonder what he would say on twitter if that happens....

[EzraTank]

Come on guys, Bell has weed to smoke until camp.

[Fire Goodell]

[Mojouw]

ERic Berry did the Leveon -- https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t...o-kansas-city/

Walter Jones didn't go to camp for a few seasons in a row -- https://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/20..._the_fran.html

Brees was going to miss camp until the Saints caved in 2012.

Norman threatened to holdout so much, they yanked the tag.

Whether it is a good idea or not is totally a separate conversation. Bell going this route is not a new trail that he is blazing into an uncharted realm of stupid. It is a standard path of player and agent versus team nonsense.

Remember, lots of guys get tagged. Most get signed in July at some point and don't end up playing on the tag. Those that do play on the tag typically miss massive chunks of the off-season program.

[steel striker]

Wake me up when the season starts.

[DesertSteel]

ERic Berry did the Leveon -- https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t...o-kansas-city/

Walter Jones didn't go to camp for a few seasons in a row -- https://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/20..._the_fran.html

Brees was going to miss camp until the Saints caved in 2012.

Norman threatened to holdout so much, they yanked the tag.

Whether it is a good idea or not is totally a separate conversation. Bell going this route is not a new trail that he is blazing into an uncharted realm of stupid. It is a standard path of player and agent versus team nonsense.

Remember, lots of guys get tagged. Most get signed in July at some point and don't end up playing on the tag. Those that do play on the tag typically miss massive chunks of the off-season program.

You're on quite a roll!

I think I'm going to skip camp this year... add me to that list!

[Mojouw]

You're on quite a roll!

I think I'm going to skip camp this year... add me to that list!

[Hawkman]

Wake me up when the season starts.

You must have been awake enough to post this!

[BlackAndGold]

And see you play well for the first time in week 4...

Same probably goes for Ben also.

[DesertSteel]

Same probably goes for Ben also.

Yeah what exactly was Ben's problem last year those first few games???

[steelreserve]

ERic Berry did the Leveon -- https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t...o-kansas-city/

Walter Jones didn't go to camp for a few seasons in a row -- https://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/20..._the_fran.html

Brees was going to miss camp until the Saints caved in 2012.

Norman threatened to holdout so much, they yanked the tag.

Whether it is a good idea or not is totally a separate conversation. Bell going this route is not a new trail that he is blazing into an uncharted realm of stupid. It is a standard path of player and agent versus team nonsense.

Remember, lots of guys get tagged. Most get signed in July at some point and don't end up playing on the tag. Those that do play on the tag typically miss massive chunks of the off-season program.

I don't know, man. You're certainly right about the first part in bold; I wouldn't be sure about the last bit.

Yes, there are a few examples of guys doing what Bell does and skipping the entire training camp, but I would guess it's far from "standard." Most players might skip out on a lot of the optional running around early in the preseason, but at the end of the day, they know their own livelihood depends on playing well, so they'll show up for the important stuff.

It might not be a completely uncharted realm of stupid - I mean, he charted it himself last year and proved that it was stupid. It is, however, still extremely stupid and does nothing to help him earn another dime.

[BlackAndGold]

Yeah what exactly was Ben's problem last year those first few games???

I believe the lack of pre season playing time, Bryant returning/struggling, JuJu being a rookie had something to do with it.

I'm just glad he got out of the funk, thought it was Ben coming to a serious decline.

[teegre]

re: Bell’s slow start last season

I still say that his recovery from groin surgery had a bigger effect on those first three games than his hold out did.


Without needing to recover, I see Bell being up to mid-season form by the second game of the season. Thankfully, the Browns give us a nice “warm up”.