Le'Veon Bell Rumors: Latest Buzz on Jets, 49ers and More Ahead of Free Agency

On Monday, NFL teams were allowed to begin communicating with pending free agents. While deals cannot become official until 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday—which makes the start of the new league year—several notable players have already agreed to new deals.

Curiously, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell is not among that group.

There are a few possible reasons for this. One of which could be that Bell has had so many suitors that he just cannot make up his mind about where to play.

Of course, another reason is that while most teams probably consider Bell the top running back in free agency this year, it is an undervalued position. Bell made it pretty clear that he's after some financial security last season when he refused to play under the franchise tag.

According to Connor Hughes of The Athletic, there isn't a huge market for Bell:

The Jets being considered the favorite makes a lot of sense. They have roughly $80 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, and they could use a quality running back to support quarterback Sam Darnold. Also, general manager Mike Maccagnan desperately needs to improve the roster if he's going to save his job.

The problem with there not being a clear No. 2 team in the Bell sweepstakes is that New York isn't likely to get into a large bidding war for the running back's services. The Jets haven't had to move quickly to get Bell to commit, and they aren't pressured to give Bell the kind of money, say, Todd Gurley got in last year's extension (four-year, $57.5 million).

It doesn't help matters that the Jets are reportedly torn over whether they want to add Bell at all.

"The Daily News has learned that Gang Green is divided on prized free-agent running back Le'Veon Bell," Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News wrote. "Frankly, some folks on One Jets Drive don't believe that A) he's worth the anticipated price tag and/or B) he's worth the risk given his mileage and mercurialness."

So some decision-makers in New York don't view Bell as worth an extravagant contract. According to Mehta, some are also concerned with being used to get Bell a better deal elsewhere.

"The Jets also do not want to be used as leverage for Bell to cash in somewhere else," Mehta wrote. "There are still some important people in the building who firmly believe that they were used during the Kirk Cousins negotiations last year. They don’t want a repeat of that with Bell."

What other teams might be interested in Bell if not the Jets? According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen (h/t Rotoworld's Evan Silva), the San Francisco 49ers could be part of the market:

Bell would be an intriguing piece in Kyle Shanahan's offense, but the 49ers will have Matt Breida and are expected to have a healthy Jerick McKinnon in 2019. Bell would likely only be an option at the right price.

According to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.com, the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders could also be in the mix:

Adam Jahns has backed up the idea that the Bears are interested in adding a running back. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, meanwhile, views the Raiders as a "sleeper team" in the Bell market.

Of course, a sleeper team may have just a good a chance as any to land Bell if the market for him doesn't manufacture a bidding war.

Bell is likely to land with the highest bidder, but it could take some time. He isn't going to just jump on a contract if it isn't in his preferred range—even if that contract is clearly the highest offered. This is why Bell may be one of the few top free agents still available when the market officially opens on Wednesday.