Le’Veon Bell apparently thinks he is helping himself in the long-term by sacrificing games and paychecks with the Steelers this year. His agent, Adisa Bakari, is presumably on board with this plan and has made comments publicly that indicate as much.
If that’s the case, here is the one thing out of this dilemma that becomes clearer every week: Bell needs a new agent.
Let me rephrase that a little. Bell needs someone to give him better advice. This holdout has been nothing but a bad look for Bell and there is no chance he is helping his quest for a long-term deal.
He gambled on the belief that he wasn’t replaceable, but he didn’t plan on James Conner producing like he has. Conner has made Bell more and more expendable, which isn’t helping Bell’s quest for a big deal in the offseason. Bell could still return and put up huge numbers, but that possibility becomes more remote each week.
Many of Bell’s teammates sound like they would rather stick with Conner as the starting running back.
“James was a bowling ball [against the Bengals], he was all over the place. What a great game,” Ben Roethlisberger said after the Steelers won, 28-21, Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. “But I know it is his last game for us since Le’Veon’s coming back.”
The line drew laughs, but Roethlisberger was being more sarcastic than funny. This isn’t the first time he has sent a message that he is growing increasingly comfortable with Conner, who rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. Last week on his radio show he said Conner should “by no means” have to go on the shelf when Bell comes back.
That’s bad news for Bell; Roethlisberger generally gets what he wants.
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To prove his value, he gambled that the Steelers wouldn’t be able to replace his production. He has lost that bet.
Conner has proven that he can replicate most, if not all, of what Bell can do. Conner has also proven Bell’s receiving numbers — a big piece of his claim that his contract should set the market for running backs — are mostly a product of the Steelers’ offense.
Bell will still get paid, but he will be lucky to get a deal as good as the one the Steelers offered. He has gotten bad advice from the start — and it is going to cost him millions.
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