Good Day Steelers’ Fans!
Welp, it’s February 20th and that means the Pittsburgh Steelers can officially place the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell. It is expected the team will do one of two things. They will slap the “Exclusive” Franchise Tag on him again meaning he can only negotiate with the Steelers. The other option is to give him the “Non-Exclusive” Tag which allows him to negotiate with other teams but means that team would owe the Steelers two first round draft picks. I believe the team will use the ‘Non-Exclusive’ tag and will allow him to negotiate with teams. What could happen is a “tag and trade.” The Steelers and another team could come to a deal, let’s say a first and third round pick, they tag Bell and then trade him knowing his agent has already worked out a long-term deal. Both Bell and the Steelers have stated that they desire to get a long-term deal done. Bell has threatened to “sit out or retire” should he be tagged again so the Steelers have to be careful as does Bell.
Until the Steelers actually draft a player in the first round from school outside the Power 5 conferences why would anyone mock such a player to them? They have not done this since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Why do they practice this? I’m sure they have their reasons but I’m not mocking anyone outside of those conferences to them until they prove us wrong.
Tweet of the Day… 1. This is funny. 2. It’s very “Kool” that Vince knows his old school tunes.
Kale & The Gang #MakeABandHealthier
— Vince Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) February 19, 2018
There’s no question one of the major issues for the Steelers this offseason is Mike Mitchell. With little to no depth at his position, it would seem wise for the Steelers to hang on to him. The problem is that Mitchell does not create turnovers, he’s poor in coverage and acts like a child at times. Cutting him saves $5 million in cap space but creates around $3 million in dead money. There’s always the possibility of a pay-cut but that seems unlikely from both perspectives. This bears watching as the draft and free agency approaches.
There’s never been a better time to be a professional quarterback. With the huge numbers the 49ers gave their new man, guys liked Kirk Cousins will cash in big time. That is likely to have a ripple effect on veteran QBs that have contracts coming to an end. The money being given to these guys is ridiculous but they are complaining and neither would I.
Make sure you check out “Ian’s Corner” for his latest on the NCAA Tournament. Ian nailed all 68 teams in the tournament last year!
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
