TAMPA, Fla. -- When the Steelers placed the franchise tag on Le'Veon Bell for the second consecutive season, they did so with the idea that he would treat this year exactly as he did a year ago when he skipped offseason workouts and training camp and showed up the week before the regular season. He then went out and had an All-Pro season.
But Bell didn't do that this time and will now miss his third consecutive game Monday night against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
And now, according to one report, they are listening to trade offers:
Steelers now listening to trade offers for RB Le’Veon Bell, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2018
Trading Bell could prove tricky, however. First, he's due $11.9 million for the rest of this season as part of his $14.54 million franchise tag offer. Second, he still hasn't signed that deal, which means he'd have to do so before a trade could be completed. Third, any team that trades for Bell would be unable to negotiate a new deal with him until the end of this season because of the NFL rules for franchise players.
A new team and Bell's agent Adisa Bakari, could have a gentleman's agreement on a new deal at the end of the season, but any team that would trade for Bell now would have to have the cap space available to add him to their roster, unless it also includes a player with a comparable salary.
Currently, only nine teams have that kind of cap space available. And two, Cleveland and Cincinnati, are AFC North teams. The Steelers are unlikely to trade Bell to another team in the division.
San Francisco could possibly be a team with interest. The 49ers have $40 million in cap space and lost Jerrick McKinnon to a season-ending knee injury in training camp. But backup Matt Breida rushed for 184 yards in the first two games and went into Week 3 leading the league in rushing.
Breida, however, suffered a knee injury Sunday at Kansas City, the severity of which is not currently known.
Indianapolis could be an option. The Colts have $51 million in cap space, second only to the Browns, and have rushed for just 179 yards in its first two games with no true No. 1 running back.
Houston also would make some sense. The Texans have cap space with $26 million, but Lamar Miller is their lead running back.
One dark horse could be Oakland. A source tells me the Raiders' coach, Jon Gruden, loves Bell and the Raiders do have $7 million in available cap space. The Steelers and Raiders have already made two trades in the past six months. First, Oakland sent a third-round pick to the Steelers for receiver Martavis Bryant during the draft. The two teams then made another deal last month for receiver Ryan Switzer, with the Steelers sending Oakland a fifth-round pick in return for Switzer and a sixth-round selection.
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