Bell’s mindset critical factor
described above, and whether Bell will eschew some big hits in favor of some sound business decisions.
Maybe that’s the right move no matter the circumstances. Maybe he should curtail his style. Like maybe hit delete on the “Le’Veon Leap” for starters.
Andmaybe the larger question is this: Will Bell still be willin gto play through a nagging injury the way he did in the playoffs last season, or will his mind set shift to something along the lines of, “They didn’t takecare of me, so I’m not going to sacrifice my body for them.”
Seem slike a fair question, and I’m not sure there’s a wrong answer.
The NFL chews through players the way dogs chew through bones. The Steelers could easily ride Bell for 650 more touches over the next twoyears and let him go, satisfied they likely got the best years of career.
Onthe other hand, the Steelers will have paid Bell around$26 million for that right(2017 and 2018 tags combined) and appear to have made Bell a fair, multiyear offer.In fact, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette reported the Steelers though they had a deal until Bell nix edit at the last second.
Partof me admires Bell for his stub born ness and pride. I respect the fact that he is willing to bet so heavily on himself. That kind of self-assurance obviously is part of what madehim great.
Butwhy does he feel the needto play the disrespect card?
We don’t have all the details ofthe five-year offer, but if the issue was guaranteed money, it seems pertinent that Bell was ticketed to make $30 million over the first two years. That is akin to guaranteed money, because even if he had, say, a major knee injury thisseason, it’s doubtful he’d be cut before next year.
The Steelers did not disrespect Bell, who has missed nearly30 percent of the team’s games since he was drafted and has yet to start and finish the same season.
It’d be nice to hear Bell say something like, “I believe I’m worth more than the Steelers offered, but I also understand I needto play in more games. I needto finish what I start.”
Instead, we hear him talk about being undervalued, and we saw him sarcastically tweet, after talks fell through: “I gotta get better, apparently.”
That bothers people, kind of like the excuses Bell tossed out after getting suspended again last season.
Theother angle here is that Bell’s backup, James Conner, happens to be one of the more popular athletes in Pittsburgh sports history. But let’s be clear on this: It’s unfair to Bell and Conner to compare the twoand to suggest the Steelers wouldbe fine without Bell.
They need him. And they’ll get him, apparently, next Friday, along with a couple of questions:
Will his approach to the game be exactly the same?
Andwould you blame him ifit’s not?