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Deadline looms for Steelers, Bell

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PITTSBURGH – Monday could be a fun day for Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.

That’s the deadline for the Steelers to sign Bell to a long-term contract or his franchise contract locks in at $12.12 million.

The Steelers have been attempting to sign Bell to a long-term contract in an effort to keep the All-Pro running back beyond the 2017 season. But time to work on that contract runs out at 4 p.m. Monday.

Bell would then become the highest-paid running back in the NFL – by a lot. His franchise deal is more than $3 million higher than the $8.75-million contract average of the next highest-paid running back, Buffalo’s Le’Sean McCoy.

It’s also more than three times the $3.8 million Bell earned in his first four seasons with the Steelers.

As the deadline approaches, the Steelers are working hard to sign Bell to a deal that will lower his salary cap hit in 2017, which accounts for just more than seven percent of the team’s cap and is fully guaranteed.

Any long-term deal would likely have to guarantee Bell at least $26 million – the total he would make if he plays out this season and the Steelers place the franchise tag on him again in 2018 at a cost of at least $14 million.

Whether the two sides come to terms on a long-term contract or not, Bell is expected to report to training camp when it opens at Saint Vincent College July 27.

Though Bell is still just 25, he’s already had 908 carries and also caught 227 passes in his NFL career.

Perhaps the most versatile running back in the league, Bell averaged just less than 22 carries and more than six receptions per game last season. But he was limited to 12 games, missing the first three because of a suspension for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy and sitting out the regular-season finale, which was a coach’s decision.

Bell also suffered a groin injury in the playoffs that forced him out of a season-ending loss in the AFC Championship at New England. He had offseason surgery and did not attend any of the team’s workouts because of his contract situation.

Players who have been franchise tagged are not technically under contract unless they sign the offer, something Bell has not done.

Bell has played 16 games in a season just once in his career, that being in 2014, when he set a team record with 2,215 yards from scrimmage. But he was injured in the regular-season finale that year and did not play in a playoff loss to Baltimore.

By not signing a long-term contract, Bell would be betting that he can get through the season without suffering a major injury. He would then be tagged again by the Steelers as at the end of the season or become an unrestricted free agent.

The Steelers already signed wide receiver Antonio Brown to a long-term contract extension this offseason, a deal worth $68 million over the next five years.

Even if the Steelers do nothing with Bell’s contract, they currently have $15 million in salary cap space. That space would be used to work on long-term extensions with other potential free agents, such as defensive end Stephon Tuitt and linebacker Ryan Shazier, or a new contract for left tackle Alejandro Villanueva. Villanueva will earn $615,000 this year on an exclusive rights free-agent deal and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

But the Steelers will not begin working on those contracts until they know where they stand with Bell.

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