By G.Stryker:
It's official. The 4pm deadline came and went without Le'Veon Bell signing his tender, and by rule, he is ineligible to play the rest of the season.
The writing was on the wall. As of yesterday, all of the Steeler logos and pictures of him in uniform, were removed from his profile pictures across all of his social media platforms. There was also a tweet this morning that someone saw him boarding a flight in Pittsburgh airport.
Speculation aside, we now will deal with facts. Bell will not play a down this year in the NFL. Some Pittsburgh fans will rejoice since he will no longer be a distraction, or potential locker room detractor. Others will lament losing out on a starter capable backup with a diverse skill set, that could have been utilized in Randy Fichtner's offense. But me personally, I'm thankful for the cap space!
$14,544,000 has been subtracted from the Steeler's salary cap, and will be available for the Steelers to use in free agency next season. This is important for a team that understands Ben Roethlisberger has less years ahead of him as he does behind him. Getting as much talent as possible for Ben's last few seasons, greatly increases the chance at another Super Bowl victory.
So don't fret too much about Bell failing to help out his team this year. By not reporting, the cap space will help the Steelers for years to come!
