12:02 pm | September 8, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
Le’Veon Bell will not report to the Pittsburgh Steelers before Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter, meaning the star running back officially will surrender his Week 1 game check worth $853,000.
The Steelers were on their way to Cleveland on Saturday for their regular-season opener Sunday against the Browns, and Bell was not with the team, according to Schefter.
Pittsburgh’s James Conner is expected to start at running back Sunday.
Bell’s agent has suggested that Bell is willing to stay away from the team for a lengthy amount of time. Bell told ESPN in January he wasn’t accepting another 400 touches on a salary he felt was below his value, and his actions are backing that up. Bell most likely found motivation from mega-deals signed by Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack — all of which came after Bell’s failed extension negotiations in mid-July.
Bell feels he’s a top-10 player, a feeling many top 100 rankings organized by media outlets have validated — and now, he’s literally giving up nearly a million a week to find out how much that top-10 status is worth.
Information from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was used in this report.
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