Way before the Pittsburgh Steelers had to deal with Antonio Brown and his antics, they had to deal with Le’Veon Bell who decided to not sign his franchise tag and sit out the entire year and give himself a shot at bigger long-term deal.
Many reports suggested the team would use the franchise tag or transition tag on the running back, but that is no longer in the works after Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert spoke to the media on Wednesday and announced the team would not be using the transition tag on running back Le’Veon Bell.
Without the tag, Bell becomes an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign with any team. By not using the transition tag, the Steelers improve their odds of landing a compensatory draft pick once Bell signs elsewhere.
In his year-long absence, James Conner emerged as the team’s feature back going forward.
