LeVeon Bell just turned up the heat another notch. It was a surprise when he didn’t show up at the start of the week; that’s what he did last year. But he also didn’t show up at practice today, meaning he’ll forfeit his Week 1 game check – worth $853,000.
That’s serious coin, and it’s now looking more possible that Bell will choose to sit out some additional games. He could skip the first 10 games, so up for the last six, and be eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring.
Bell’s strategy might be to skip games, giving him a better chance of being healthy on the open market in the spring. The Steelers gave him the ball a league-high 406 times last year, and his agent made some remarks about over-usage during the week.
Right now, I would guess that Bell also won’t show up prior to Week 2. But we’ll see. It’s got to be tough for him to leave those game checks on the table.
The Steelers at some point could decide to be done with Bell. Maybe James Conner lights it up early in the season. They could in theory pull the $14.54 million franchise tender off the table. That would make Bell a free agent, but he wouldn’t be able to sign for more than that with another team this year.
Far more likely, I think, the Steelers leave the franchise tag in place. They might quietly be pleased with these developments. It’s allowing them to get a thorough look at Conner, and it’s increasing the chances that Bell will be healthy and fresh at the end of the season (when they need him).
If the Steelers were to release Bell, where might he land? To me, the 49ers and Colts look like the best possible fits, and as luck would have it, they’re two of the three teams with the most existing cap room. But I don’t think Bell is going anywhere in 2018. And because of labor agreement rules, neither the Steelers nor any other team will be able to sign Bell for more than one year or to pay him more than $14.54 million this year.
WEATHER ALERT:
Forecast for Sunday indicates the Steelers and Browns will be playing in the rain. Heavy rain at times, and with winds around 20 mph – possible gusts up to 30 mph. That’s a little worrying, but I wouldn’t adjust any fantasy lineups unless I had a very comparable player to elevate.
Sounds like weather could have some impact on passing and kicking games, but it won’t hurt the runners at all. The running backs, in fact, might be even better than usual – more carries, and defenders perhaps losing their footing more often.
Also keep in mind that it’s September. Temperatures will be 60-plus. This isn’t like a November deal, where players are dealing with cold fingers and frozen footballs. Frankly, a mildly, rainy day might be better than some of the other weather situations you see at this time – with players in less than ideal shape are trying to play in hot and humid conditions.
I wouldn’t be thinking at all about benching receivers like Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jarvis Landry. Defensive backs (also playing in the rain) have to figure out how to cover those guys.
I like the running backs in this game. James Conner is going to get a huge workload (though Cleveland is pretty solid against the run). On the other side, Carlos Hyde has a long history of playing well in early-season games. Four of Hyde’s six best all-time games have come in the Weeks 1-3.
Ben Roethlisberger and Tyrod Taylor, I think, belong in the teens among quarterbacks this week. But that’s where I had them when I put together the original scouting reports.
—Ian Allan