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Le'Veon Bell's efforts to give all the worst US sports commentators the opportunity to share their terrible opinions continue during the fourth week of the NFL season. We still have no indication as to when he will end his delay and report to the Steelers. Coach Mike Tomlin will not even talk about Bell anymore. Is there no way to move forward?
One of Bell's former teammates made a suggestion. Retired Steelers defenseman James Harrison said Bell should sign the franchise tag offer, show up for the practice, do the job and present a mysterious injury Saturday that would not allow him to play.
"And for me, I would give you everything in practice, you would see – the cameras would see – that I'm fine, I'm in good health. "Saturday, there's something wrong, I can not play Sunday, because if I go out and screw up something, I lose a lot of money," Harrison told Fox Sports.
Bell does not ask for a new contract. He can not. Because the Steelers gave him the franchise label and the deadline to negotiate a new long-term deal in July. All he can do now is sign the tender sheet of $ 14.5 million. If he does not sign it and does not return to the team before November 13, he will lose a year of service and will not qualify as an unrestricted free player next season.
Bell's main concern now is that the Steelers will reduce their earning potential with a heavy workload and an increased risk of injury this season. Keeping the course until the last date would avoid part of the race, even if this strategy is not satisfactory for some of his teammates.
So what happens when he reported and pretended to be hurt?
Harrison's suggestion gets points for accuracy. If Bell presented himself to the team but could not play because of his injury, he would accumulate another year of service and become a free agent in 2019.
The reality is that it might not be so easy.
The team could question Bell's assertion, triggering a back and forth between team doctors, physics sought by players, independent doctors, etc. He risked the Steelers suspending him without pay. This would also create a legal battle between the team and Bell, and by extension the league and the union, to find out whether his 2018 season counts or not for the free agency.
It could also hurt his long match, anticipating the free agency next spring.
Bell's game is risky because the best runner market is still unlikely to pay him an average of $ 14.5 million per season. The Steelers would have bid $ 70 million over five years this year, which seemed good until you read the fine print – it only guaranteed $ 10 million at the signing, a bullshit number .
A recent piece of the MMQB asked a few anonymous NFL executives, and the most optimistic suggestion about what Bell could do was an agreement close to Todd Gurley, around $ 56-60 million. The money actually guaranteed would be entirely different.
And if he was pretending to hurt himself and that he was engaging in a long-running refereeing battle with the Steelers, this could also end up bringing his value to the market.
While most NFL executives say anonymously that this is a real bullshit, it should be noted that Bell's current view (which is not a potential disease) would probably not no impact on his market next year.
An injury of any kind, real or imaginary, also takes another option, an exchange. The NFL trade deadline is October 30th, a few weeks before the deadline for Bell to show up and have a season to come.
Thus, Harrison's suggestion is probably not a realistic option. But …
There is another way!
If Bell is worried about usury, he might think of taking a page from the Seahawks' safety booklet, Earl Thomas. Thomas held out during the off season, but appeared at the start of the season.
However, he is now out of practice, which he did last week before Seattle hosted the Dallas Cowboys. That does not make him more popular with management, but that does not seem to be hurting his field game. His two interceptions last week were crucial to his team beating the Cowboys.
There is no reason why Bell should not take a similar approach.
One thing Thomas did differently is that he seems to have communicated with his teammates throughout the process. This is an area where Bell has made a mistake. His Steelers compatriots were in favor of his delay during the camp and the pre-season, but they began to openly criticize him once he failed to show up for the start of the season.
Who knows when Bell will be back, probably not before Mike Tomlin returns his cover when he finally asked too many questions on the subject. At this point, I will not bet on Bell until the November 13 deadline. And when he does, do not try to have too many mysterious wounds on Saturday.
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