Le'Veon Bell had been set to report to the Steelers and perhaps play this Sunday, but he wanted to be paid his full salary while he was on the two-week exemption list and the the team balked at doing so, a source told DKPittsburghSports.com Wednesday night.
As a result, the source added, Bell chose to stay away at least another week and could do so for the remainder of the season.
As reported here last week, the Steelers had been in contact with Bell's agent, Adisa Bakari, leading up to the bye week, and they let it be known they weren't going to pay Bell a portion of his $14.54-million franchise tag salary while he worked his way into game shape. The Steelers intended to ask the league for an exemption period to carry Bell on their roster as a 54th player. They would then need to activate him before he could return to play.
The Steelers did that with Bell last season when he reported the Monday before their regular-season opener. They sought and received an exemption for him on their roster, but activated him late that week and played him in a 21-18 win at Cleveland. He got 10 carries for 32 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards.
But the Steelers have been unhappy with Bell's refusal this season to report as he had done a year ago. And the emergence of James Conner in his absence has given the team the ability to play hardball with Bell.
The Steelers also are gaining salary cap space for each week in which Bell doesn't report -- approximately $855,000 per week. While the team might not necessarily use that space this season, they can roll any unused cap space into the 2019 season, meaning they also have incentive not to pay Bell his full salary.
Bell said a few weeks ago to ESPN.com he expected to play again for the Steelers this season. Sources at the time said that could happen during the team's bye week. There is now speculation that Bell might wait until after the Oct. 30 trade deadline to ensure he remains with the Steelers for the remainder of this season.
But with the situation obviously reaching higher levels of acrimony, he also could choose to sit out the entire 2018 season with the idea the Steelers would not choose to place the franchise tag on him again. That, obviously, would be up to Bell. But the Steelers are ready to bring Bell back -- on their own terms, as president Art Rooney II told NFL.com last week in New York.
“I expect him to be a member of the team going forward,” Rooney said. “That’s my expectation.”
