Brown gets record deal; Bell franchised
Bell’s were more serious — resulting in suspensions of three games to start each of the past two seasons for failing drug tests. He also has yet to get through any of his four seasons without injury and ended each of the past three with injuries that kept him out of the playoffs two seasons and knocked him out of most of the AFC title game in January.
But president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert expressed little concern about those incidents in recent interviews.
“Unfortunately, running backs get injured a little more than other positions due to the nature of the position,’’ Colbert said.
“We have no reservations about Le’Veon. Not his durability or his ability. He’s grown, I think, tremendously off the field. And I think, I hope, he continues to grow in those areas. But there’s no hesitation to having him be with us, hopefully, for his whole career.”
Said Rooney, “I wouldn’t say that we have a big concern about Le’Veon’s physical abilities or stability. He is a strong, young player. I think he will keep getting better.”
Brown, who turns 29 July 10, has been assaulting Steelers and NFL records for several years. He became the first NFL player to lead his conference in receptions four years in a row, tying Marvin Harrison as the only players in history with 100 receptions in four consecutive years.
Bell, who turned 25 this month, rushed for 1,268 yards (4.9 average) and caught 75 passes for another 616 yards this past season. He became the only player in NFL history to average 100 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards per game in the 2016 season.
But despite all that, the Steelers came up short of the Super Bowl again after a weak performance on offense and defense in the AFC championship in New England. Part of their problem in 2016 was the lack of production at receiver after Brown. Injuries hurt them there, but they have no one right now they can count on to fill those roles next season.
Bell carried the team in their first two playoff games this past season, but his groin injury early in the AFC championship left them without a reliable ground attack against the Patriots.
The rest of their team will stay relatively intact, with a few contract decisions still ahead. They enter this year with more available salarycap room than they’ve had in quite some time, approaching an estimated $35 million.
They used a lot of that Monday to sign Brown and Bell. while sending a message that keeping the Big Three together is the best way to pursue their seventh Lombardi Trophy.