During the offseason, Pittsburgh signed Bell to a 14.5 million dollar franchise tag for the second season in a row. The Steelers were forced to tag Bell when he denied a 5 year, 70 million dollar deal. Bell refused the deal due to a lack of guaranteed money (10 million).  What Bell failed to realize is as long as he stays on the field he would get every penny of his contract. Like last year, Bell held out of training camp. The difference between this year and last: Bell showed up for the first regular season practice.

Bell’s absence caused an uproar in the Pittsburgh locker room. When asked about Bell’s absence, several offensive linemen went off. “What do you do? here’s a guy who doesn’t give a damn, I guess so we’ll treat it as such. I just hate it came to this.“ – Ramon Foster. “Just sit out the whole year then.” -David Decastro.  Pissing off the dudes who make you an elite running back is never a good thing. Expect Bell to take a few hits when and if he returns.

What to do with Bell?

We now enter Week 4 of the season and still no signs of Bell. The Steelers find themselves at a 1-1-1 record.. What is this? Hockey? Pittsburgh has struggled during the month of September but the absence of Bell really hasn’t been the catalyst of the slow start (29 ppg). Besides a shaky week 1 performance, Big Ben has rattled off two great games in a row without Antonio Brown being a huge factor. Juju is slowly emerging into a superstar and second-year halfback James Connor has done a really nice job filling in.  Rumor has it Bell may just sit out until week 10. Screw that. Bell returning past the midpoint of the season could totally screw the chemistry in an already catastrophic locker room. Plus look at thicccc he’s getting. (Sorry didn’t realize how rough that picture is)

The problem in Pittsburgh is the damn defense. Pitt really has a nice front 7 but man does that secondary minus Joe Haden blow. I propose this solution: Just Trade Bell. No chance Le’Veon shows up next year so why not get some value out of him? (For the right price).

My Ideal Trade

Over in Seattle, there is also some drama involving an All-Pro Safety Earl Thomas. Thomas has made it clear he wants no part of Seattle and also participated in an offseason holdout but unlike Bell, Thomas has character. Thomas returned week 1 and is off to a hot start (18 tackles and 3 picks). Rumors still continue to float around about Thomas’ non-commitment to Seattle. The Seahawks also lack a running game and really any weapons with Baldwin out. With a few picks thrown in the mix, I think this deal could really benefit both teams.

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-Tommy Wall (@TheGreatWall25)