Pros and cons of letting Le’Veon Bell walk in free agency
The Steelers have a big decision coming up: what do they do with Le’Veon Bell?
The star running back is easily one of the best skill players in the league and now he wants a salary that goes along with that. The Steelers reportedly made Bell an offer last season, but it wasn’t enough for him so the Steelers gave him the franchise tag. We’ve now looped back to where we were before.
Signing Bell would give the Steelers an elite player for years to come, but it would also cost a significant amount of money. It’s hard to tell where the Steelers are leaning with Bell at the moment. A case can be made for both sides of the debate, so let’s take a look at the pros and cons of letting Bell walk in free agency.
Pro: Less drama in the locker room
Bell certainly hasn’t had a shortage of drama during his tenure in Pittsburgh. This drama includes getting suspended due to marijuana, the controversy over his rap career, threatening holdouts, and most recent rumors that Bell skipped out on team walk-through’s prior to the Jaguars playoff game and arriving late to the game that day.
Now some of these storylines of course are overblown with full context given. For example, I don’t think Bell’s rapping should be a concern, but there’s a saying “where there’s smoke there’s fire” and Bell has caused a significant amount of smoke throughout his career. The term “distraction” is overused to an extreme degree, but it’s an idea worth pondering if parting with Bell would cut down on drama and distractions.
Con: Loss of continuity
Ben Roethlisberger has stated publicly that he doesn’t want to see much change on the team. The Steelers offense was great down the stretch of 2017 and surely nobody, including Ben, wants to see the unit change. Losing Bell would certainly cause some ripples.
Because Bell is such a dynamic player, the offense would need to adapt to his loss. It would be difficult for a different player to replicate his impact not only as a running back but as a receiver. If the Steelers truly want as much continuity as possible going into 2018, signing Bell would go a long way.
Pro: More money to go around
The money may be the defining factor in this conversation. We’ve seen all kinds of figures, but signs are pointing to Bell wanting a yearly salary somewhere in the $15 million range. This large number would surely also come along with a fair amount of guaranteed money.
If the Steelers were to let Bell walk, this would free them up to spend that potential money in free agency. They would have the freedom to potentially bring in somebody who could start on defense, such as a safety or an inside linebacker. If not spending because of the Steelers current lack of cap space, then at least the Steelers may have the luxury of keeping players like Vance McDonald who could be a cap casualty.
Con: Losing a potential Hall of Fame player
Of course, one of the primary arguments for keeping Bell is that you don’t want to lose a potential Hall of Fame-caliber player. This point is hard to disagree with. In two straight seasons, Bell has accumulated nearly 2,000 yards of total offense and has consistently played at an elite level.
Bell also has been revolutionary for the running back position, introducing a patient style of running that backs are now constantly trying to replicate. Keeping Bell means keeping the three B’s together, and that would mean keeping a trio of three elite, potential hall of fame players. Most teams dream of having a group like that.
Pro: The Steelers have had success when Bell’s been out
In 2016 when Bell was out, DeAngelo Williams started in his placed and the offense didn’t skip a beat. The offense has proven they can perform at 100% even without Bell. And if he were to leave, the Steelers would already have their next starter ready to go in James Conner.
Though he received limited snaps in 2017, Conner impressed when given the ball. He averaged a respectable 4.5/yards a carry and displayed impressive speed, power, and even flashed the patience Bell is known for. I’m not saying by any means that Conner could replace Bell and nobody would notice a difference, but the Steelers would be more than okay at running back with him at the helm.
Con: Conner is relatively inexperienced
While it is nice that the Steelers would have James Conner ready to step up as a starter, there’s no telling how smooth that transition would be. Not because of Conner’s talent, but his inexperience. While he did impress in limited snaps as mentioned before, we never got a chance in 2017 to see how Conner does when playing extensive snaps.
Things were different with DeAngelo Williams because he was an NFL veteran and had a long career of starting behind him. Conner, well, doesn’t. There’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic that Conner would excel in a starting role, but relying on him to step up as a starter would also come with a fair share of risk.
