NFL: Le'Veon Bell continues holdout - will not report in 2018

Blackhawkswincup

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Jun 24, 2007
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This never happens. If teammates are lashing out, imagine a new team where they don't know you.

I wouldn't put it past anyone that Bell is done in the NFL.

RGIII is still around despite a locker room that despised him and his exit from DC being very ugly

Bell will be a guy who as soon as he is no longer elite will be moving from team to team or wont be signed
 

StreetHawk

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Sep 30, 2017
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Seeing these type of reaction instead of the "We understand its a business" , etc type responses make me think Bell was not well liked in locker room to begin with
It is odd when teammates don’t back one another when it comes to contracts especially since Bell doesn’t have a signed one right now unlike Donald, Mack, Thomas when they skipped camp and preseason.
 

Gene Parmesan

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Jul 23, 2009
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RGIII is still around despite a locker room that despised him and his exit from DC being very ugly

Bell will be a guy who as soon as he is no longer elite will be moving from team to team or wont be signed

That's not true. The Redskins players liked RG3. You and Jay Gruden didn't like him.
 

Avs_19

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Jun 28, 2007
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Damn. It's getting pretty ugly now. This is more direct and negative but both Ben and Brown made some comments about Bell's holdout last year and things were fine after he showed up.
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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It's not going this far, but it's pretty obvious his teammates feel like they were lied to by Bell.

Bell's only obvious out to save this quickly would be to fire his agent, sign the tag and tell everyone he was getting bad advice. Seems unlikely though.
If he doesn't play, or he does and then can't get a new deal next year. He clearly believes he's worth a lot, and someone could give it to him. Or I could see no one giving it to him and deciding he's a huge distraction.
 

StreetHawk

Registered User
Sep 30, 2017
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PIT really should have locked him up tho... cant blame the guy
They offered him a long term deal but Bell wanted more guaranteed money I believe.

Market would dictate whether Bells demands would be met.

But I fully get why he wants some guaranteed term. Dude is a feature back. Over 400 touches last season. Workhorse whom the Steelers would likely ride again and add more wear and tear on.

Are his demands too high for any team? Very likely are.
 

m9

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It is odd when teammates don’t back one another when it comes to contracts especially since Bell doesn’t have a signed one right now unlike Donald, Mack, Thomas when they skipped camp and preseason.

They've backed Bell for two seasons. It just changed today because he lied to them about showing up.
 

Falco Lombardi

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Nov 17, 2011
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They've backed Bell for two seasons. It just changed today because he lied to them about showing up.

Exactly. There wasn’t a word against him until he failed to show up for week 1 when he said he would.

I was surprised that he didn’t report today. I’m not judging him. I totally understand his side, but I didn’t think it would continue to this extent.
 

Avs_19

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Jun 28, 2007
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Exactly. There wasn’t a word against him until he failed to show up for week 1 when he said he would.

I was surprised that he didn’t report today. I’m not judging him. I totally understand his side, but I didn’t think it would continue to this extent.

Not a word against him but also not very strong public support for him when the team refused to pay him what he's worth. Now, his teammates are doing ownership/management's work for them by blasting him publicly and trying to guilt him into returning.
 

Shockmaster

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Sep 11, 2012
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They've backed Bell for two seasons. It just changed today because he lied to them about showing up.

How can he lie when he never committed to showing up at any particular time of the season in the first place?
 

m9

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How can he lie when he never committed to showing up at any particular time of the season in the first place?

Never committed publicly. Based on today, it's safe to say he committed to his teammates.
 

Shockmaster

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Sep 11, 2012
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Never committed publicly. Based on today, it's safe to say he committed to his teammates.

No he didn't, because his teammates said they haven't spoken with him. They just assumed he would show up, and assumed wrong.
 

m9

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Not a word against him but also not very strong public support for him when the team refused to pay him what he's worth. Now, his teammates are doing ownership/management's work for them by blasting him publicly and trying to guilt him into returning.

1. Where are the examples of this poor public support?

2. Based on what Gurley got, the rumoured Bell offer (15/yr) was fine.

3. Management has already botched this, there is no work they can do at this point. The comments of the players today (especially their player rep) are clearly their own words and not from management.
 

m9

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No he didn't, because his teammates said they haven't spoken with him. They just assumed he would show up, and assumed wrong.

So you think he hasn't talked to any of his friends on the team about this recently?
 

robertmac43

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Mar 31, 2015
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RGIII is still around despite a locker room that despised him and his exit from DC being very ugly[/QUO

I feel like a lot of the animosity towards RG3 was out of his control. The situation deteriorated following 2012 obviously and that affected the team cohesion, but a lot of that was not on him.
 

Avs_19

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Jun 28, 2007
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1. Where are the examples of this poor public support?

2. Based on what Gurley got, the rumoured Bell offer (15/yr) was fine.

3. Management has already botched this, there is no work they can do at this point. The comments of the players today (especially their player rep) are clearly their own words and not from management.

Not necessarily poor public support because I recall a few players saying they hope something gets done because Bell deserves it. It just wasn't very strong support compared to the strong backlash we saw against him today. No one was really talking when negotiations were going nowhere because you stay out of your teammate's money but apparently that doesn't apply anymore. I have no idea what Bell told them privately or what they expected from him but to me the players commenting on his absence today and painting him as the bad guy are the ones who actually look bad publicly.
 

m9

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Not necessarily poor public support because I recall a few players saying they hope something gets done because Bell deserves it. It just wasn't very strong support compared to the strong backlash we saw against him today. No one was really talking when negotiations were going nowhere because you stay out of your teammate's money but apparently that doesn't apply anymore. I have no idea what Bell told them privately or what they expected from him but to me the players commenting on his absence today and painting him as the bad guy are the ones who actually look bad publicly.

Pretty much everyone involved is coming out bad at this point.
 

Goalie_Bob

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How can he lie when he never committed to showing up at any particular time of the season in the first place?

This is completely untrue. Bell had a video on Facebook or Instagram or somesuch in March saying he would join the Steelers for Week one just like last year. That he wasn't going to OTAs or training camp but would be there for Week one and was going to come in and have the best season of his career.
 

Voight

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Feb 8, 2012
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If Bell shows up they are going to use him for 350+ touches and wear him down even more... then come free agency teams will be wary of him and he'll have lost his chance to get a major contract.

All he wants is some security given his age and the fact that RB's don't last much longer then 30. Obviously he wants to get paid but i dont think he will push to beak Gurley's guarantee record.
 

Shockmaster

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Sep 11, 2012
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https://www.tsn.ca/steelers-o-linemen-rip-absent-teammate-bell-1.1168219

Hows that for poor public support.

His own teammates are pissed that he basically ghosted the whole team and sent his agent to deliver lip service while he holds out for more money than he already has.

Not the best look, considering what his teammates are earning.

Why does what his teammates earn matter? Bell didn't sign the tender, so he has no obligation to report. Also, consider that Rodgers, Gurley, Donald, OBJ, and Mack all got paid huge contracts. Seeing what those guys got paid entrenched Bell in his position even more.
 

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