Le'Veon Bell Odds: Colts, Jets Favorites to Land Steelers RB Next Season

The Indianapolis Colts are the favorites to land running back Le'Veon Bell should he eventually leave the Pittsburgh Steelers after holding out during training camp for the second consecutive year following the team's use of the franchise tag.

On Sunday, OddsShark provided updated betting lines for where Bell will be to open the 2019 NFL season, with the Colts, Steelers and New York Jets leading the list:

Updates on the 26-year-old playmaker have been few and far between lately.

He skipped the entirety of training camp and the preseason last year before signing his one-year franchise tender six days before the start of the regular season.

In July, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported the plan was pretty much the same this time around and that it would be a "shock" for Bell to miss meaningful games.

He tallied 1,291 rushing yards, 655 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns across 15 games last season despite sitting out the summer.

So it's no surprise the Steelers aren't overly concerned about his latest prolonged absence.

"I'm sure he's in great shape, he's in great shape over a 12-month calendar, but football shape is football shape," head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters last week. "When he gets here, we'll see where he is and proceed from there. Until then, I'll focus my energies and attention on the guys that are working here, as I should."

Bell could be on the move before the 2019 campaign if the sides can't come together on a long-term contract extension, though.

He's scheduled to make $14.54 million during the upcoming season, assuming he does choose to play under the tag, which ranks third in the NFL behind the Los Angeles Rams' Todd Gurley ($21.95 million) and New York Giants rookie Saquon Barkley ($21.25 million), per Spotrac.

The Colts and Jets are both teams who will likely be searching for an upgrade at the position next offseason. In addition, they both feature quarterbacks in Andrew Luck and Sam Darnold that would benefit from having a more dangerous rushing attack to take some pressure off their arms.

Ultimately, the bottom line is that if the Steelers aren't willing to pay Bell, another team will once he becomes a free agent.