Steelers Beat: RB Le'Veon Bell could decide to stay away into season

Jul 16, 2018

From the player’s perspective, the ultimate leverage isn’t staying away until Labor Day; it’s staying away until the Tuesday after Week 10.

That’s the deadline for LeVeon Bell's arrival and acceptance of the franchise tender. Specifically, if Bell shows up before then, he gets $14.5 million (or $852,000 for each of the 17 weeks he’s with the team). If he shows up after then, he can’t; he’d be done for the year.

Adam Schefter of ESPN said this morning on SiriusXM NFL Radio that it’s “possible” Bell stays away until the middle of the year. Of course it’s possible. But the far more important question is whether it’s likely.

Fantasy Impact:

The story said Bell would lose $8.5 million if he holds out for 10 games. He'd also have no leverage because the Steelers wouldn't be able to sign him until after the regular season at that point. The deadline for a deal is 4 p.m. Monday.

yesterday

Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson officially Out for Week 12

Adam Schefter

yesterday · 4:12 PM EST

Cowboys list TE Jake Ferguson as out for Sunday’s game vs. Washington due to his concussion.

Related Players: Luke Schoonmaker

Fantasy Impact:

This puts Schoonmaker more or less in TE streaming consideration, but there are far better options this week, which puts him low on the totem pole.

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith officially Out for Week 12

Mike Garafolo

yesterday · 4:04 PM EST

Eagles ruled out WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) for Sunday against the Rams.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, Jahan Dotson, Johnny Wilson, Dallas Goedert

Fantasy Impact:

It's a bit of a crapshoot as to who the "WR2" on the offense will be, but now that he's ruled out, Brown and Goedert should get a nice boost to their bottom line. That would lock Goedert into a no-doubt TE1 role in Week 12.