Le’Veon Bell wow.

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I just cut out the parts in the article about Bell.

Holy shit what a douchebag.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201801180124

Bell performed as well as expected in 2017 and made All-Pro again. But he also threatened to sit out the year if they put the franchise tag on him for the second time. That tag will be 20 percent higher than last year’s $12.12 million, so make it $14.57.

It’s probably an idle threat, but the Steelers have to be reaching a point where they ask, is he worth it? He turned down their offer last year of a contract that would have paid him more than $12 million on average per year and more than $30 million in the first two. The next highest-paid backs earn $8.5 million per year. His agent wanted to take it, Bell did not.

So what’s to make anyone think they can come to terms on a multiple-year deal this time? If they can’t, using that franchise tag would stress their salary cap because it all would count against it in 2018. Over The Cap pegs their cap room at $2.7 million, pending a rise in the cap, for their top 51 contracts (the only ones who count in the offseason). That does not include Bell.

If they do reach the breaking point, they could use that $14.57 million elsewhere — or not make moves to find the room — and draft another halfback in the first or second round. If Bell leaves as a free agent, the Steelers would receive a compensatory draft pick in 2019, perhaps in the third round.

It’s possible Le’Veon Bell will not play for the Steelers in 2018.

Nevertheless, there is another elephant in the room that Rooney, Tomlin and Colbert must address. Are the Steelers’ disciplined enough?

Tomlin never lost the locker room, he had it under control and his players respect him. However, there were many instances in which he could have taken better control, including the fiasco for the national anthem in Chicago.

As another example, Tomlin wants players and coaches to report to the locker room two hours before kickoff for games. That was continually ignored by both players and a coach or two.

Not only did Bell arrive much later than that for the playoff game against Jacksonville (as well as one coach), he missed practically the entire Saturday walk-through the day before, showing up about five minutes before practice ended.

Tomlin’s reaction to Mitchell supposedly yelling at the Jaguars outside their locker room before the playoff game?

“That’s part of what I was talking about in today’s climate,” he replied. “That’s really kind of irrelevant to me.”