Bell says Steelers will put tag on him again

slightly less than $6 million of room, according to Over The Cap. They do not have to be under the cap until free agency starts at 4 p.m. March 14, so they could put the tag on Bell and create the room over the next week by a combination of cutting some veterans and restructuring contracts.

They also could continue to work on a multiyear deal with Bell, as they tried to do last year and failed. They would have until July 16 to reach a new deal or else Bell would play under the franchise tag again. Bell told Fowler he still thinks something can get done before then.

“It’s hard for me to predict these things,’’ Steelers president Art Rooney II said one month ago about getting a deal done with Bell before the franchise tag deadline. “Normally they come down to the last minute.” And so here they are. Putting all that cap room in the franchise tag will reduce their ability to sign free agents to, for example, shore up their defense. A multiyear deal would enable the Steelers to reduce that cap number by half at least while still putting more money in Bell’s pocket.

“Well, our preference is to sign him to a new contract, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it in terms of a franchise tag,’’ Rooney said. “It does have cap ramifications that you have to be prepared to deal with if we get to that point.”

Bell’s agent had agreed on a multiyear contract last summer that would pay him an average of more than $12 million annually with more than $30 million in the first two years, pending the player’s approval. Bell rejected it.

He has said previously he wanted an average of $15 million annually.

The Steelers offer last season would have paid him 50 percent more than any other back in the league, on average. The next highest-paid runner is Devonta Freeman, who signed a contract last year with the Atlanta Falcons that averages $8.25 million annually. Former Pitt start LeSean McCoy earns an average of $8 million annually with the Buffalo Bills. No other back earns as much as $7 million on average.

“I can’t get into where he fits in the running back market. It is what it is,” Rooney said.

Bell, 26, is considered by many the best overall back in the league. He made his second All-Pro team last season and third Pro Bowl in five years after he ran for 1,291 yards and caught 85 passes, breaking his team reception record for a back.

Yet his average per carry dropped by nearly a full yard, from 4.9 in the previous two seasons to 4.0 last year. But his versatility allows the Steelers to keep him on the field every down and move him all over the place — in the backfield, split out, in motion, etc. He also is adept at blocking for the blitz. All that helps allow them to run the no-huddle without replacing personnel, which puts defenses at a disadvantage.

The Steelers also could put the tag on Bell and trade him, which is unlikely. Bell would have to sign the oneyear franchise tag contract before that could happen, which means he would have to agree to the trade and any contract the other team would pay him. He did not sign his tag last year until Monday before the start of the regular season.

If the team would not franchise him and Bell became a free agent, it’s possible he could test the market, find offers unsuitable and return to the Steelers on a multiyear deal. That’s another long shot.

Teams with a ton of cap space could give Bell what he wants. Examples include the Cleveland Browns ($109 million in room), New York Jets ($90 million), Indianapolis Colts ($73 million), Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($70 million), San Francisco 49ers ($68 million) and others, according to Over The Cap. Division rival Cincinnati has $34million in cap space.

Bell’s demands easily could fit under any of those team’s cap. The question the Steelers must answer: Is he worth keeping at the price at the expense of helping their defense?