Eagles betting favorites to land Le’Veon Bell before trade deadline

It’s not a secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been engaged in trade talks with teams surrounding holdout running back Le’Veon Bell.

An impending free agent, Bell has missed the team’s first five games. And while he’s potentially set to report here soon, it seems that the relationship between the All-Pro and his organization can’t be repaired.

The issue here is that teams might be a bit timid about trading for a player they can’t sign to a new deal until the season is over. It’s left Pittsburgh between a rock and a hard place. It’s also watered down the market for Bell’s services leading up to the Oct. 30 trade deadline.

But don’t tell any of this to Las Vegas. This one Vegas bookmaker has the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles as favorites to land Bell prior to the above-mentioned deadline. In fact, the odds suggest Bell has a better chance to be in Philadelphia than Western Pennsylvania once Week 9 comes calling.

While Philadelphia did clear a ton of cap room by restructuring Fletcher Cox’ contract, the team is reportedly not interested in landing Bell. Then again, that could be nothing more than smoke and mirrors from Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. There had been reported interest on their part in the past.

Philadelphia lost starting running back Jay Ajayi this past week to a season-ending injury. It has already reportedly inquired about LeSean McCoy, leading to speculation that the defending champs are indeed in the market for a running back.

From Pittsburgh’s perspective, trading Bell makes a lot of sense. Second-year back James Conner has filled in great in his stead and is on pace for 1,859 total yards this season. If the Steelers can get anything of substance for a player that won’t be with the team next season, GM Kevin Colbert and Co. have to think about it.