Leveon Bell will not sign franchise tender or report to Steelers - am I missing something?

It’s going to take at least 3 years to build up this o-line to that level. Our runs are getting stuffed at the line more often than I’ve ever seen before; it’s garbage.

I think Bell’s patience and vision, paired with his contribution to the passing game, make him one of few running backs that can be productive consistently with our line.

 

Probably true. We only had Marshall for a couple years at the end of his prime and he completely transformed our offense with Jet-record breaking production despite having a JAG at QB.

We’d be getting Bell for 3 prime years and I wouldn’t doubt that he could have a similar contribution to 2015 Marshall.

 

Bell's entire position was that his production was too high, because the Steelers overused him - that's why he refused to play this year. There is only one reason why he would go to a team like the Jets, which would want to do the exact same thing with him and yet still not be close to being a Super Bowl team, and that's if they seriously overpay him. Even then I see the Jets being way down on his list of preferred destinations. The Jets already went through this with Cousins, and I believe that the premium they would have to pay for Bell would be way more than the $2 million a year more they offered Cousins than the Vikings offered.

I don't believe at all that Darnold has shown enough (yet, hopefully) to be a big draw for a highly skilled player on offense, and the defense clearly isn't good enough for that either. The only thing the Jets have going for them is money.

 

Marshall was terrific in year 1, a headache in year 2, and then gone after that. So since we have the cap space, sign Bell by all means, but I'm not expecting miracles.

 

I don't agree, he's looking to get paid. That's his only motivation.

 

Marshall transformed the offense along with Decker year 1, then was the driving force behind dividing the team and the shit show in year two.
Exactly what I fear with Bell.

 

It’s a valid concern, but I would argue that all 3 seasons of the guaranteed portion of Bell’s contract (age 27, 28 and 29) should be prime years, whereas Marshall was already over the age of 30 when we got him so there was a high chance his attitude would quickly outweigh his effectiveness.

 

The flags we're there with Marshall, he burned bridges every where he played before the Jets signed him. Even if he were younger, the end result would have been the same. The positive is, we weren't stuck with him on a bloated deal so the damage was minimal. In fact a blessing because he took the other dead weight with him .
Bell could be a great addition, he could just as easily, maybe more so be a detriment to Darnold and the rest of the young players. Is he the veteran presence you want to lead a young team?

 

why in the hell not

 

Let’s stop commiserating over Pryor. He was not a threat. He played soft and did not live up to the savage ness his physical presence alluded to. His route running was a horror show and he was late on his breaks all the time.

Guy had zero stats in the Bills win over the Jets, a game in which the Bills put up their season high. He also was going against guys he saw in training camp all summer - so knowledge was on his side. He did shit. Then he was released.

Stop.

 

he wants 50 mil guaranteed and 17 mil a year. I think he would take 2mil less a year and still be the highest paid if we gave him more guarenteed then he asked for to balance it out. of course it's all speculation so who knows what bell is thinking and what offers he'll get

 

Reports right now is that he wants over $17 mill per year, with $45mill fully guaranteed. (5 years $85 million )
Your suggestion is to guarantee him over 50 million? 5 more than he's currently seeking? Way to much for a RB. You will never convince me that's a reasonable deal , especially with the risk he carries .

 

I'd rather draft our next great RB. The more I watch Montgomery, the more I want us to take him with a 2nd we get from a hypothetical trade down.

 

i never said it was resonable. hell most NFL contracts aren't reasonable but they are what they are. cousins got 90mil guaranteed lol i was saying we could guarantee more and pay less per year to save cap

 

And how is Cousins working out? At least Cousins was a guy who could be counted on to show up, stay out of trouble and not devide a locker room and a QB.
Do we really save cap by guaranteeing more? Or do we just end up with more dead cap when he decides he's had his limit of carries and wants to sit. Or when he underperforms and we can't afford to release him due to the $50 million plus you suggest we guarantee. Front loading his contract is the way to save cap space in future years, but with Bell, you know for sure that as soon as the money decreases, he's holding out.

 

i mean he's playing great and diggs and thelin are having career years with him throwing the ball and it's opened up the run game for cook and murray as well. as a team though they aren't doing good at all especially since they were projected to make the SB by many. them and the eagles fell off fro pretty much no reason. regardless though yes guarenteed money is always a risk but every move made in the NFL is about risk / reward. high risk = high reward

 

Does the risk out weigh the reward?
That's the big question.

 

Not sure, nobody can be sure, but if he can come here and did what he did for pitt the last 5 years it would be a huge help to darnold and a big playmaker added that we need

 

No to bell. not worth the coin. same as cousins.