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Steelers’ Bell would be wise to hold out, before his wheels fall off

4 min read

“We’ll run him until his wheels fall off.”

That’s what Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he planned to do with Willie Parker 10 years ago. It wasn’t long thereafter that Parker’s wheels fell off.

He had five 100-yard games through Game 7 of the 1997 season, and also had a 93-yard game in that stretch, and finished with 1,321 yards and a trip to the Pro Bowl.

And why wouldn’t Tomlin want to run Parker’s wheels off? In 2006 he started 16 games and carried the ball 337 times for 1,494 yards – one of the best years ever for a Steelers running back.

The wheels were still on for the 2008 season and Parker carried the ball 53 times the first two weeks and had back-to-back 100-yard games.

He was injured on his 14th carry in Game 3 and missed the next five games. He had two more 100-yard games that year.

Parker never gained 100 yards in a game again and was out of the league a year later at 29.

Le’Veon Bell is a few months younger than Parker was when he had his best year. Bell only ran the ball 261 times last season but he also had 75 catches for a total of 336 touches.

In Parker’s best season, he touched the ball 368 times.

Back in 2014, Bell touched it 373 times – 290 rushes and 83 catches.

Keep in mind that this is NFL 2017, when runs have been traded for short passes. Bell didn’t catch a pass that was more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

And let’s keep in mind that your aunt could catch 25 passes a year playing running back in Todd Haley’s offense.

Bell has a decision to make. He’s carrying the Steelers’ exclusive franchise tag, which means he has until Saturday to sign a one-year contract for $12 million.

That’s enough to keep the next three generations of his heirs from ever having to worry about money, but should a running back, who plays for a coach who brags about running guys until their wheels fall off, be in a big hurry to sign a one-year contract?

And don’t think that Tomlin has changed his opinion on how to use his top running back. Last season, in games 11 through 15, Bell had three 100-yard games and a 236-yard game. He also mixed a 93-yarder in there. He carried the ball 38 times when he gained the 236 against the Bills.

Maybe you remember that Bell wasn’t able to finish the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots. He’s missed four of the Steelers’ last six playoff games and 2014 is the only year that he played in 16 regular-season games.

There was discussion about Bell needing surgery to repair his injured groin but Bell said no thanks.

Could you blame the Steelers if, despite Bell’s spectacular performances, they were a little reluctant to throw lots of guaranteed money at a running back whose wheels could fall off at any minute?

Could you blame Bell for wanting to get as much guaranteed money as he can get before his coach’s running back philosophy chews him up and spits him out?

If I’m Le’ Veon Bell, I’m holding out. And if I have to play with the franchise tag, nobody sees me until a few days before the last preseason game.

Do you know how many times he carried the ball in the preseason last year?

Three.

The veteran move at this point would be to do whatever possible to avoid setting foot in the dormitory at Saint Vincent College.

• The fact there are people making a good case for the Pirates trading Andrew McCutchen should tell you all you need to know about what a joke Major League Baseball is. He’s in the middle of what might be the best six weeks ever by a Pirates hitter and has raised his average close to .300 after being at .200 on May 23. The Pirates are going nowhere this season, but they have him under contract through next year, which means, if they do trade him for prospects, then they’re writing off this season and next.

Try to picture a scenario in which the Penguins would be wise to trade Sidney Crosby at 30. How about the Steelers trading Ben Roethlisberger five years ago?

Baseball experts everywhere are saying that trading McCutchen is what a small-market team like the Pirates has to do to stay competitive.

Few, if any of them, stop to think about how ridiculous it is that they’re probably right.

• If I owned the Pirates, I wouldn’t want a player of McCutchen’s stature who didn’t want to get out of Pittsburgh. If he wanted to stay, I’d question his desire to win.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.

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