The loss of Le’Veon Bell on the field is immense. But the Pittsburgh Steelers' front office might gain something else with his looming four-game suspension.
Cap space and dollars.
The mechanics of a Bell contract extension have shifted more than one of the tailback's deadly open-field cuts. The unsympathetic reality of the NFL is that healthy knees and trustworthiness equal money. Lately, Bell has been 0-for-2 in that area.
Now, the Steelers can enjoy Bell's production for at least 12 games without the pressure of dishing out an enormous long-term deal for the 2017 free agent. Bell's lost leverage lends flexibility to a team that has been strapped by the salary cap in recent years.
Basically, the Steelers can play this however they want. If the Steelers don't like what they see from Bell, they can justify a clean break.
Extending Bell was already a complicated proposition before last week's news that he's facing a suspension for missed drug tests, his second drug-related issue since 2014. The Steelers needed to see Bell healthy after he tore medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in Week 8 last season.
As long as Bell returned smoothly, he was ready to capitalize on an all-around game that produced 119 yards from scrimmage per game since 2013, tops in the NFL among running backs.
On ability alone, Bell would have no problem finding a contractual sweet spot between Adrian Peterson ($14 million per year) and LeSean McCoy ($8 million). Teams simply aren't giving tailbacks Peterson-like money anymore. His original deal is from 2011. If things fell right, Bell was set to become the top earner at his position once Peterson fell off the books in the next few years.
But this isn't about that.
Dependability is the central issue.
That's why the Steelers could ride Bell for 12 regular-season games plus playoffs, then offer a low-ball deal, let him walk or place the franchise tag on him. The tag for running backs was around $11.8 million in 2016. Bell is talented enough to warrant franchise consideration despite his track record off the field and his ending back-to-back seasons prematurely with knee injuries.
That's hardly a guarantee, especially as the team inevitably grows tired of drug-related headlines from its own locker room. Wide receiver Martavis Bryant is out for the season after multiple drug-testing offenses.
The Steelers have $5.365 million in cap space, including an $8.070 million figure for guard David DeCastro, who's likely getting a long-term deal that lessens the cap hit this year.
That leaves 2017 free agents Markus Wheaton, Lawrence Timmons, Jarvis Jones and one big contractual hurdle -- locking up Antonio Brown on one last big-money deal. Brown, a 2018 free agent, is vastly underpaid at $6 million-plus this year. Brown just turned 28 and has productive years left. Theoretically, Bell's off-field trouble just moved his money to Brown's bank account.
Bell's best case is he goes all out when he returns, stays out of trouble and helps guide Pittsburgh to playoff success. Then, perhaps the Steelers would be willing to extend him to a team-friendly contract that protects them if he finds trouble again.
But all signs suggest that market-setting tailback money is not an option, which is probably a win for the Steelers. They can draft a tailback in the first few rounds of the 2017 draft. The Steelers eyed several potential pass-catching running backs in the fourth round but went conservative in the absence of a fifth-round pick.
None of the 20 highest-paid running backs has had multiple NFL drug offenses. That's a problem for Bell.