Only 94 days until the Steelers kick off against Cleveland to open their 2017 season. Only 94 more days until actual football is played.

It feels like forever.

Especially on days when you read tweets and headlines like this:

#Steelers want to keep Le’Veon Bell, but is a holdout for a new (big) contract in play this offseason? #HereWeGo https://t.co/RZWRWGhDnL pic.twitter.com/kwGm9CKc4o

— NFL Spin Zone (@NFLSpinZone) June 3, 2017

Is Le’Veon Bell considering a hold out unless he gets a new contract?

Look, I don’t know if he is or isn’t, but the idea that he is “turning up his nose” at a $12.12 salary (even though it’s only for a year, and it’s not guaranteed) is silliness. The franchise tag contract he has would make him the highest-paid running back in the league, and it wouldn’t be close. (LeSean McCoy would be second at $8 million a year on average.)

No Show at OTAs

“But he didn’t come to OTAs. Doesn’t that send a message?”

I hear you, and yes, it does send a message. The message is, OTAs are voluntary and Bell is under no obligation to attend. Troy Polamalu rarely attended OTAs, preferring to work out on his own doing his own thing. Nobody thought Troy was “holding out” or “sending a message” when he didn’t attend.

Additionally, Le’Veon had groin surgery not that long ago:

"Surgery went really well, and groin already feels better than it did before! I'll be stronger!" – Le'Veon Bell #herewego #steelers pic.twitter.com/euKsbUkWIA

— 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (@steelcityundrgr) March 15, 2017

While the recovery timeline for his surgery was speculated to be only six weeks, six weeks pretty much covers OTAs.

There is one more thing to keep in mind, since Bell hasn’t signed his offer: he actually cannot attend OTAs unless he is willing to sign a waiver. While that might have been a good idea and no-brainer for a two-year player like Alejandro Villanueva, it’s not a great idea for Le’Veon Bell, coming off groin surgery. Bell is almost certainly doing what he needs to do to get in shape, and to be ready for the required team activities that are upcoming.

What About His Contract?

Le’Veon has stated loudly and repeatedly that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have stated unequivocally that they want to keep him here. The fact that they both want to get a deal done is a good sign. They have until July 15th to do that, and if they can’t, Bell will certainly play under the franchise tag this year… and make a monstrous pile of cash.

The bottom line, as it always is, is what do both sides feel is fair. In one of Le’Veon’s rap songs he talks about $15 million. That’s not going to happen and he knows it.

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Does he deserve to be the highest paid running back in the league? Probably. But you can argue against that as well. As good as Bell is (and he is really good), it doesn’t matter if he’s not on the field. In Bell’s four seasons in the NFL, he has managed to play in all 16 regular season games only once. Injury and suspensions have limited his availability, and, as mentioned above, he is recovering from an injury that he played with for part of last season.

Regardless, it’s hard to make the argument that he is “injury prone” because the injuries have been more the direct result of some questionable hits (at least in two instances) rather than repeated nagging injuries. It’s also hard to question Bell’s work habits and his efforts to keep his body in tip-top shape. His production has steadily increased each year he’s been in the league. His yards per game has risen from 66.2 in 2013 to 105.7 last season.

There really is no question about if Bell is good enough – he is. Even though we all hope the suspension issues are behind him, the simple fact of the matter is that Le’Veon is one failed test away from another suspension. So, does it make sense to invest in a long-term deal for a running back who hasn’t been able to stay consistently healthy, and has the potential to be lost due to off-field issues?

While you can make an argument that it actually doesn’t benefit the Steelers to lock up Bell’s services for the long term, it’s a tenuous argument at best. There really isn’t a scenario that ends with the Steelers being better if Bell isn’t on the team. They should absolutely get a deal done.

But it has to be the right deal.

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Conclusion

If the Steelers and Bell can’t work out a deal that they both are happy with (and that deal is not going to be for 15 million a year – no way) then he will have a choice to play under the franchise tag this season. It’s really not that bad a deal to play for $12.12 million dollars, even though it’s just one season. He can’t go anywhere else, because the Steelers used the “exclusive” tender, so it’s either play under the tag or don’t play. The idea that Bell would sit out is absurd. He hasn’t shown that kind of personality and his work ethic may be second only to Antonio Brown’s.

It’s not going to happen.

If the Steelers and Bell can work a deal out, it would be beneficial for both of them. Bell would have the security of a long-term contract (as much as such things provide anyway) and the Steelers would keep a major part of the team for the foreseeable future. Frankly, all this talk of holdouts is part and parcel of the offseason. People are desperately searching for something to write about. It’s speculation and nothing more.

There are 94 days until kickoff and it can’t come soon enough.