Report: Le'Veon Bell to Skip Steelers OTAs After Getting Franchise Tagged Again

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell won't attend the team's organized team activities, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Monday. 

The Steelers' OTAs are set to begin Tuesday and run through Thursday before resuming next week. Bell's absence won't come as a surprise, with the three-time Pro Bowler looking to sign a long-term extension. Pittsburgh placed the franchise tag on him for the second year in a row in March.

Bell is set to earn a little over $14.5 million in 2018 unless he and the Steelers can agree to a new deal before July 16. He indicated during a live chat on Instagram in March he plans on sitting out the offseason without a multiyear extension.

"Honestly, no, I'm not going to sit out," Bell said, regarding a holdout that would include the 2018 regular season, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Joe Rutter. "I'm going to be in the facility Week 1. It's going to be a rerun of last year. I'm not going to [training] camp. I'm not doing nothing else extra, OTAs, none of that."

He had previously floated the idea of sitting out the 2018 season or retiring altogether if the Steelers placed the franchise tag on him.

Bell reported to the Steelers last September ahead of the 2017 season, missing out on the team's preseason workouts and games.

Bell proceeded to run for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns, though his 4.0 yards per carry were his lowest since his rookie year in 2013.