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Le’Veon Bell isn’t unreasonable for wanting to get paid what he thinks he’s worth. But he’s sure unlucky in his timing, as the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to get the job done with James Conner in his stead. Conner is even doing things Bell never did.
Conner became the first running back in Steelers history to have three consecutive 100-yard games with two-plus rushing touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 33-18 win over the Cleveland Browns. Conner finished the game with 212 total yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Bell hasn’t play a down of football this season. He still hasn’t signed his franchise tender and remains away from the team. Early in the season, when the Steelers were struggling, so was Conner, and it looked like the team was missing Bell’s presence. But now, Conner and the Steelers are rolling right along. After a 1-2-1 start, the Steelers have won three straight games and are looking more like a playoff team. Conner has become an instrumental piece of that team.
James Conner is now producing on Bell-like levels
Against the Browns on Sunday, Conner rumbled for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 24 carries, while catching five of the six passes thrown his way for 66 yards.
That includes this patient 12-yard score that effectively sealed the game for the Browns:
The Browns had just cut their deficit to 16-12. The Steelers got the ball back and put it in Conner’s hands four times in a five-play, 75-yard drive.
On the season, he has 599 yards rushing and another 323 yards receiving. He’s rushed for nine touchdowns through seven games. He’s running hard, and does everything the Steelers ask of him. Even in his iffy rushing performances — 19 yards against the Ravens and 17 yards against the Chiefs — he still had eight receptions between those games, filling a receiving role that Bell is well-known for.
Not that Conner or Bell have any beef — Conner has said that Bell texts him after he makes a good play. If Bell returns to the team, they would both get touches. The issue now is about chemistry, especially after some of Bell’s teammates didn’t respond well to his holdout.
Conner is currently playing his best football. He followed up those two subpar games with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. His yards per carry number is now up to 4.7. He’s just the fourth first- or second-year player to record four games with at least two rushing touchdowns in his team’s first seven games of a season, joining elite company in Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson and Steve Van Buren.
And his teammates have made it clear that Conner deserves to a healthy workload whenever Bell returns.
Conner’s emergence isn’t great timing for Bell
Conner’s success is great for the Steelers, but Bell is still Bell: a well-rounded back who can be the most dangerous offensive weapon in the entire NFL. In 62 career games, Bell has 5,336 rushing yards, 35 rushing touchdowns, 2,660 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. A three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro selection, Bell is the very definition of a “do-it-all” player.
Bell wants to be paid more than as a great running back. He owns Steelers franchise records for running back receptions, receiving yards by a running back, and most scrimmage yards in a season with a massive 2,215 in 2015. The body of work he’s put forth in the NFL cannot be argued with, and he can still show that he’s a special player if he returns to the field this season.
Bell’s thinking in his holdout is simple: he deserves more money and long-term job security. He’s shown that he has the kind of talent and production that, if you were to place him in any team’s starting offense, he’d make an immediate impact. And if you were to then remove him from that offense, it would get markedly worse. He had every reason to suspect that would happen to the Steelers.
But Conner is making a name for himself and he’s putting up similar productions as Bell. Suddenly, Bell’s holdout is not the most pressing issue the Steelers have to worry about — and it doesn’t help Bell’s case to prove just how irreplaceable he is.
His holdout was supposed to put the Steelers in a bad position on the field. Except it didn’t, and it’s showing no signs that it will.
What’s next for Bell?
Bell lost most of his leverage after the deadline to extend his contract passed on July 15. The only leverage he could have is not allowing the Steelers to trade him, if they wanted to. If Bell doesn’t report before the deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. ET, then the Steelers can’t trade him.
The big question now is whether or not Bell will return at all. He could potentially sit out the entire season, but his ultimate goal of getting a big contract won’t be furthered by doing that because he wouldn’t be able to become a free agent.
Bell has until Nov. 13 to report to the team, otherwise the Steelers will retain franchise tag rights going into 2019. It seems likely that he’ll return at some point, but nobody (but Bell, presumably) knows for sure if that will happen.
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