The entire Le’Veon Bell drama in Pittsburgh could very well be coming to an end.
Still a holdout as his Steelers prepare for their third regular season game Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is now reporting that the team is listening to trade offers for Bell.
Steelers now listening to trade offers for RB Le’Veon Bell, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2018
Those who have followed this story closely shouldn’t be too surprised. After being handed the franchise tag for a second consecutive year, Bell has made it clear that he wants a long-term deal.
Now that the deadline has passed for that to come to fruition, his agent has indicated that 2018 will be the running back’s final season in Pittsburgh.
The backdrop here being rather obvious. A rift has been created between Bell and his teammates, leading to drama the Steelers have not seen in decades.
An impending free agent, it stands to reason that Pittsburgh might look to get something in return for the game’s best all-around running back.
Just recently, we focused on a number of teams that might be interested in Bell. It’s a limited number of squads, especially given Bell’s salary and the cap situations teams find themselves in right now. Add in the fact that he can’t be extended until March, and that’s magnified even further.
With James Conner performing well in Bell’s stead, the Steelers have an in-house candidate to replace him on a full-time basis. Whether that leads to a trade between now and the Oct. 30 deadline remains to be seen. But the Steelers are now listening to offers.