Le'Veon Bell Rumors: Trade 'Likely' If Steelers Use Transition Tag on Star RB

The Pittsburgh Steelers likely won't bring Le'Veon Bell back for the 2019 season despite having the means to match any offer he'd receive on the free-agent market.  

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reported Thursday that "coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert do not want to go through a third consecutive year of dealing with Bell's disruptive situation and have no desire to sign him to a long-term deal or place the transition tag on him with the intention of keeping him for one more season."

"Ideally, the Steelers would find a team interested in Bell, place the transition tag on him, sign him and trade him to that interested team the same day," Dulac added. "That way, they are guaranteed some form of compensation for the former All-Pro running back, whether a player or a draft choice."

The Steelers could potentially use the franchise tag on Bell and test his resolve for another season. However, that route is likely off the table because Pittsburgh would be paying him at the level of a quarterback franchise tag. According to Over the Cap, that would guarantee Bell almost $25.6 million for 2019.

Dulac noted the transition tag could cost as much as $14.5 million. The downside for Pittsburgh is that it doesn't preclude another team from making a big contract offer to Bell.

If the Steelers declined to match the offer, then he'd leave without any compensation coming their way.

At this point, there's little reason to believe Bell will return to the Steel City.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger argued the constant questions about Bell's status throughout the 2018 season had a negative impact on the team.

"It hurts you when you don’t have one of the better players in the game," Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh (via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski). "But I think the biggest thing that hurts us was that it was a distraction. At his position we got to see James Conner and Jaylen Samuels, and I thought we got to see guys come into their own and see a glimpse of the future. I was really encouraged about life without Le'Veon."

From a practical standpoint, it makes more sense to roll with James Conner as the starting running back next season.

Conner finished with 1,470 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns in 2018, and he finished 16th in DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) among qualified running backs, per Football Outsiders. The 23-year-old is also under contract for $668,000 in 2019 and $758,000 in 2020, which is a fraction of what the Steelers would need to pay Bell.

The biggest question regarding Bell is which team will be willing to meet his asking price in free agency.