Gil Brandt: Bell A Fit For Bucs
February 19th, 2018
Bucs should have checkbook ready.
It’s difficult to imagine this happening, but it’s fun to dream.
Despite the bluster from Steelers free agent running back Le’Veon Bell and the public indifference of Steelers owner Art Rooney II, it is difficult to believe the Steelers won’t work out a contract for the NFL’s best running back.
Bell suggested during the playoffs that he’d retire if the Steelers tag him for the second consecutive year. Rooney wouldn’t budge from politically correct answers, saying he is hopeful the team can re-sign Bell.
If that can’t happen, a long-time yet respected nemesis of the Steelers, former Cowboys vice president of player personnel and current NFL.com columnist Gil Brandt, said Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht better be ready to pounce with a check stacked with zeros if Bell hits the open market.
Leaving aside Bell’s suspension history and a relationship with his team that can seem bumpy at times, Bell is, from a pure talent standpoint, an all-around back who can make any squad better, regardless of scheme. If I were the Steelers, I’d try very hard to keep him in the fold — but I wouldn’t go overboard, given that Pittsburgh does have other offensive stars to lean on, like Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Plus, this draft isn’t a bad one in which to find running back talent. If Bell’s price is too high for the Steelers, the Buccaneers and Giants could both use his services. Tampa Bay hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2015, and the Giants haven’t had one since 2012. Imagine what Bell could do to help unlock that Bucs offense.
No one Joe has spoken to within league circles remotely believes the Steelers would be stupid enough to let Bell walk away for no good reason, the way the Bucs did with Michael Bennett a few years ago. After all, there is a reason why the Steelers are Super Bowl contenders year after year and the Bucs rarely can get out of their own way. You know, Cleveland South?
Remember last year when it was rumored that Antonio Brown was on the trading block?
If somehow, someway, Rooney lost his mind, Joe sure hopes Licht has the Team Glazer vault already on a forklift ready to drop on Bell’s front lawn.
February 19th, 2018 at 6:05 am
Why would he want to come play here? Would love him in a Bucs uniform but I’m sure Tampa isn’t on his radar.
February 19th, 2018 at 6:11 am
Most Super Bowl winning teams don’t sink that kind of
Money (cap space) into a running back. Its not a winning formula.
February 19th, 2018 at 6:12 am
He’s looking for 15 mil a year long term isn’t he?
F. That.
February 19th, 2018 at 6:18 am
Go get em
February 19th, 2018 at 6:35 am
Overpaying brittle free agents like that is how teams get into “cap hell” and why every year really good players become cap casualties. Throwing the kind of money at Bell that could make him play for a perennial loser like our Bucs would mean saying goodbye to at least some of DJax, Dotson, Sweezy, Lavonte, Brate, Kwon, Grimes, Panphile, Smith and Hawley. Some of those guys probably make you say “good riddance”, but each are , at very worst, capable NFL starters and quality depth. Careful what you ask for.
February 19th, 2018 at 6:38 am
You people worried about cap space do realize bucs are one of the main reason the league had to create a CAP minimum. The ABSOLUTE last concern the basement dwellers need to worry about is cap space. Talent and winners is all the bucs should concern themselves with. A good cap guy can do miracles. But never feaar we are buc fasns and have no hope the glazers can figure anything out nor do glazers have any desire to field a respectable product.
February 19th, 2018 at 7:05 am
I would love to see this but I think to keep a handle on the salary cap later on the Bucs would need to also trade away DJax and his salary.
Trading Jackson could land us a pick in this year’s draft, maybe a third rounder. Also cutting Martin would give us more than enough space to get Bell. I would then use that extra third to draft another RB.
Bucs still need to improve the Oline too and the most commonly wanted linemen, Jensen and Norwell, will cost about $20m per season combined.
These signings plus the cuts of Sweezy and Martin would still leave the Bucs at like $47m in cap space. Add in another couple million to Evans current salary of $13m to get him where he needs to be and they have $45m to work with. Not sure if that’s enough for the other moves they need to make – signing Marpet, Smith, Alexander etc
February 19th, 2018 at 7:06 am
I have a suspicion the Steelers, and possibly also the Bucs, will mess this up. They’ll say no running back is worth 15 mil.
As Bell has realised, that’s the not the answer to the real question as we move towards positionless football.
The real question is, what is someone with Bell’s skillset worth? The answer probably still isn’t 15 mil. But 10-12? Probably.
Look at what the Cards did with Mathieu
February 19th, 2018 at 7:25 am
A highly-talented, highly compensated offensive line can make an average back an All-Pro…….
A horrible offensive line can make an All-Pro quite average…..
Which poses the question, what sort of offensive line do the Bucs have at this moment???
Yeah, thought so…..
February 19th, 2018 at 7:35 am
Stupid to pay a RB 15 mil a year when the 2nd highest paid RB makes 8 mil a year.
This is the offer Bell turned down last season:
“Steelers’ offer to Bell included $30 million in the first two years, $42 million over three years and an average annual value of $12 million.”
February 19th, 2018 at 7:52 am
Putting the cart ahead of the horse is never a good idea…Yeah we have to fix our running game, but to do that we have to get better in the trenches for any RB to succeed…Imo, we should move Marpet back to G, draft G Quenton Nelson (assuming Chubb is of the board) in the 1st rd and C Isaiah Wynn in the 2nd Rd…
As for Bell, I love is game but I hate his antics…I personally dont think any RB in the NFL is worth 15 Mill a year; especially considering the high probability for RB injuries…I’d cut Martin and Rodgers, keep Barber and Sims, then draft a RB (Royce Freeman is on of my personal favorites)…It sucks, RB is premium position but a very volatile one at the same time…everyone needs a good RB but they get banged up pretty easy…Imho the best approach at that positon is the “RB by committee” approach not the “bell cow” approach….that approach has worked for years teams like New England and New Orleans…
February 19th, 2018 at 7:53 am
First we had LaGarette Cheech and now sign LeVeon Chong? sweet refer madness!
February 19th, 2018 at 7:57 am
I wouldn’t give him 15 but he should get paid handsomely he deserves it. I guess the money all comes down to how it would be structured really and bonus incentives, etc. If you could add 2 decent guys to the OL the offense would be showtime!
February 19th, 2018 at 8:13 am
Unless the Steelers line comes with him we will regret it
February 19th, 2018 at 8:37 am
Haven’t we covered this already?
Bell wants a multi year guarantee for more than double what the best RBs in the league make.
within 1-2 years Bucs will have $70M+ going to 5 players who made relative peanuts last year. Winston – $30M, Evans, $15M, Smith $10M+, Marpet $8-10M, Brate $6-7M.
Its not possible to pay a RB $15M for multiple years with all the $ already going towards offense moving forward – unless you want to make maxi-pad’s decade and cut GMC and just not have any good players on defense other than those you draft still on their 1st contract.
Makes a hell of a lot more sense to just draft a 1st or 2nd rd RB every 3-4 years than pay that kind of $ for what is usually considered the most plug and play position on the field (not to mention most injury prone as well…)
Its pretty damn hard for any team (including the Steelers) to justify paying Bell that much with multiple years guaranteed like he wants – when he is literally 1 ill timed blunt toke away from being suspended for an entire year.
February 19th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Good convo…won’t happen. Steelers will keep him. We’ll improve our run game another way (via the Oline and better play calling/game management). Go Bucs!
February 19th, 2018 at 8:58 am
For all the cost and disruptive potential Bell brings,I prefer to spend my money on an O-line and draft a running back with less baggage.
February 19th, 2018 at 9:12 am
Look how many players we sent to SB winning teams over the past few years…. Blount is still one of those moves that sticks in my graw all the time… I’m happy for Blount but damn… Let’s get it right and win some damn games and get to the playoffs!!!
February 19th, 2018 at 9:20 am
Tmax and Pick made some really strong points. But Bell is not worth it. At that amount he garners too much risk. We have to resign the players we have that will eat up cap space. I also agree with joe that we are in a two year window to be really competitive. Despite the many of flaws GMC has he is a great 3tech. He isnt getting any younger and I would anticipate him retiring in the next few years. He will likely seek a short contract worth some serious change. Which we will likely pay. But even so, that may extend the window an additional year. We must go after true marquis players this FA. Imho, Bell is not the one.
February 19th, 2018 at 9:31 am
Still would come down to coaching, if he were to sign with bucs.
February 19th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Last year Jason “cringing at expecatations” Licht paid the Muscle Shamster $7 million. I would argue that Le’veon Bell is worth twice that and then some, $15 million.
If Bell could carry us to the playoffs, then he is most absolutely worth it.
I would argue if faced with a choice pay Bell or GMC, I’m paying Bell.
February 19th, 2018 at 9:45 am
why would bell come here?….so he can watch dirk air it out to djax all day…..before we get bell, we must commit to the run…..simple as that!!!!…
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
February 19th, 2018 at 10:02 am
Free Agency is such a crap shoot and in the current NFL Era a GM has to really be careful. I was upset last year when we didn’t really go after Calias Campbell, but then a few years back I was pissed when we didn’t pay $100 grand for Albert Haynesworth. While we have had success with with Players like Rice, Nickerson, Mankins and Grimes (so far), I can name at least 10 busts. I have a bad feeling about Bell which means he will probably run for 1500 yds and 20 TD’s next year or he might get suspended. I try not to judge our GM on decisions regarding FA. To me it’s a mix between crystal ball and WAG.
February 19th, 2018 at 10:19 am
NO! NO! A 1000X NO!
Gil and posters in favor of Bell gloss over his very FIRST sentence.
“Leaving aside Bell’s suspension history and a relationship with his team that can seem bumpy at times”
Why would we leave that aside. Yeah we could possibly construct a contract that is immediately avoided for any weed suspension but this dude is one bong hit away from a year on the bench! He’s one bad hit on his knee from a career ending hit….and 15 MILLION bucks.
Again I’m curious about fans here. What is our offensive identity. Did we select #3 with the top pick in the draft to become a running team? How much do we suppose that pick of Jameis…which I totally support..cost us in draft capital? ME13 a #7 round pick…our top draft pick last year an Offensive weapon in OJ…our top FA signing last year DJAX.
I’m on board with some balance. We need a SOLID not a GREAT running game to be able to burn some time of possession late in games..we saw what happens when our D is asked to protect a lead and it was truly UGLY. And of course a solid running game helps Jameis with play action fakes.
We ARE a passing team…at least that’s how we’re currently constructed. We need a decent running game to protect that passing game. We do not need the best RB in the league nor the top draft pick in Barkley.
We need to build the trenches.
February 19th, 2018 at 10:24 am
If we get him we need to go o-line with our first two picks.
Our defense would suck (13 sacks) but we would
Have damn we would have some offensive talent.
February 19th, 2018 at 10:26 am
Tom Edrington makes a great point.
“A highly-talented, highly compensated offensive line can make an average back an All-Pro…….
A horrible offensive line can make an All-Pro quite average…..”
And the OL gives us more bang for our bucks. They are not limited to helping #3 with great pass blocking, they are able to improve our running game as well.
We have three backs on our roster with 4yrd per carry averages. 3 YPC is bad…2.9 is what drove Joe nuts over Doug…5 yards is excellent…4 yards is middle of the pack or “average” numbers achieved behind our mediocre at best OL…add Nelson…and just one solid FA to our OL and it could become a very efficient group.
February 19th, 2018 at 10:46 am
And then there is C.J. Anderson, behind probably the worst line in the NFL, had his best year.
Hhhmmm?
February 19th, 2018 at 10:57 am
No rbs elevate the play of lineman. See Barry Sanders
February 19th, 2018 at 11:08 am
Anyone who thinks we can afford Bell has bumped their head. We have ME13 to sign, JW3 to sign, Kwon to sign and others. There is only so much $ to go around. Bell wants $17m per yr. NO F-N WAY!!!
February 19th, 2018 at 11:33 am
The type of game LeVeon Bell plays is not contingent on having a great Offensive Line. He catches passes in space and has the speed to make defenders miss. If he was your standard up the gut runner I would say we need a good O Line but he doesnt have that style. Plus he will buy time for Winston with play action that teams will have to honor.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
CJ Anderson rushed 245 times for 1007 yards a 4.1 average
Payton Barber was limited to just 108 carries for 423 yards a 3.9 average.
If you do the math 245 carries for Barber is 955 yards
I’m not suggesting that Barber is as good as Anderson but it’s actually close.
Anderson’s longest run…40 yards Payton 34.
CJ’s 40 average 4.53 a low of 4.43 Barber’s 4.49 low average 4.59
They are both the same size 225. I’m not sure about the comparison of the Broncos and Bucs OL’s but clearly Payton did not run behind the Cowboys OL.
If you look at Anderson’s receiving and Barber’s again their numbers are very comparable when you factor in the number of times they were targeted.
CJ 224 total 8 average…Barber 114 7.1 average on far fewer targets.
I honestly do not know how much better CJ blocks than Barber which I realize was Payton’s biggest struggle out of Auburn. Believe he’s improving though.
To those who so quickly dismiss Barber….remember Earnest Graham? Unused…lolling around a lot on the bench or strictly a blocking fullback. Again similar skill sets to Payton except of course where Barber struggles blocking Graham excelled.
My reason for bringing up Earnest is because if you look at his career stats he was totally underutilized as a runner. His first three years he had fewer attempts combined than Payton had last year.
When the Bucs became desperate enough or smart enough in Grahams 4th year and gave him 222 attempts he blossomed and was a very good runner for a couple of years. Why cant’ the same thing happen for Barber.
Again…we are a passing team…we do not need the best running back in the league…we need to improve our OL and rebuild our DL and pass rush.
We HAVE 3 backs who all sport 4 YPC CAREER averages. If we add Nelson and a solid FA to our OL…along with another competent (4 YPC) back..our running game will be strong enough to complement our passing game…the area where we have spent the vast majority of our resources.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
15 million, no thanks.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
This is literally the only RB in the league the Bucs should expend major capital to attain. Just entering his prime and the best two way threat in the league with the best vision that will make the O-line look better than they are. Wow.
He’s literally the only one. Would be a dream to get him. Other than that…
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!!
February 19th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
“we are a passing team…we do not need the best running back in the league…we need to improve our OL and rebuild our DL and pass rush”
Could have saved yourself some time and said it all with just that sentence spbf.
February 19th, 2018 at 4:20 pm
tmaxcon Says:
February 19th, 2018 at 6:38 am
You people worried about cap space do realize bucs are one of the main reason the league had to create a CAP minimum. The ABSOLUTE last concern the basement dwellers need to worry about is cap space. Talent and winners is all the bucs should concern themselves with. A good cap guy can do miracles. But never feaar we are buc fasns and have no hope the glazers can figure anything out nor do glazers have any desire to field a respectable product.
—————————————————-
Not what the stats have bore out… http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/blog/2017/free-agency-overspending-begets-losing
Yes, there is a cap minimum for a reason, but running back isnt a position you allocate most of your cap space towards in building a winning team. QB, OL, DL, corner and receiver before running back.
February 19th, 2018 at 4:37 pm
No, he is not a fit for the Bucs.
February 19th, 2018 at 7:19 pm
If the Steelers can’t lock him up long-term, they will franchise him … at that point the Bucs would have to trade the #7 pick plus some … I’d pass on that if I was the Bucs
February 19th, 2018 at 10:03 pm
[Pretty sure you are wrong. Joe got calls from the Bucs in the days both leading up to and after Bennett was allowed to walk away basically telling Joe to calm down.]