Le'Veon Bell Signs Steelers Franchise Tender After Contract Holdout

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally have their running back under contract. 

Le'Veon Bell ended his holdout Sept. 1 as promised and officially signed his franchise tag Monday, less than a week before the Steelers' regular-season opener. Bell will make $12.1 million in base salary this season. 

The Steelers have a two-week roster exemption for Bell, which will allow them to carry 54 players into Week 1.

When on the field, the 25-year-old is one of the best in the league at his position. The second-round pick broke out in 2014 when he was first-team All-Pro after tallying 2,215 yards from scrimmage. This past season might have been even more impressive as he totaled 1,884 total yards in just 12 games.

He and Ezekiel Elliott are the only players in the past two seasons to average more than 100 rushing yards per game. Among active players who have played at least three seasons, only Adrian Peterson averages more than Bell's 86.1 rushing yards per game in his career.

"We need him. I need him," Steelers wideout Antonio Brown said, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "If we're going to do what we desire to do, we need every guy a part of the organization in a helmet to be there committed to the cause. He's a special piece. Obviously, we know what he brings to the team, his dimension playing football, but he's a special individual. I pray that we have him there."

The ability to make plays in both the run game and passing attack are why quarterback Ben Roethlisberger called him the "best in the business," per Bryan DeArdo of 247Sports.

Of course, the question is whether he can stay on the field going forward. A knee injury cut his 2015 season short while a groin injury limited him in 2016. He was also suspended three games at the start of year for violating the league's substance abuse policy and two games in 2015 stemming from a DUI.

The Steelers added James Conner in the third round of April's draft, and he's performed well on the ground in the preseason. Conner isn't a good pass catcher yet, but he and Bell might wind up sharing the field at certain points in 2017.