Fantasy Slant: Steelers Hand Le'Veon Bell Exclusive Franchise Tag

By Vincent Frank on Tuesday, February 28th 2017
Fantasy Slant: Steelers Hand Le'Veon Bell Exclusive Franchise Tag

Any thought given to the idea that Le'Veon Bell might change teams in free agency can now be thrown out the window.

Not only did the Pittsburgh Steelers hand their All Pro running back the franchise tag on Monday, they handed him the exclusive rights tag. This means that Bell will remain with the Steelers for the 2017 season. If the team had given him the non-exclusive tag, another squad could have yielded two first-round picks to the Steelers in exchange for Bell in free agency. 

The deal pays Bell $12 million for next season and further helps the team negotiate a long-term deal with him without any other squad being involved in negotiations. 

From a fantasy persective, this pretty much locks in Bell as one of the top-two running backs heading into the spring with Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys. 

Despite missing four games last season (three to injury and sitting out Week 17), Bell was absolutely magnificent. He gained 1,884 total yards and averaged 5.6 yards per touch. More than this, Bell recorded a ridiculous 75 receptions in 12 games and averaged an absurd 28 touches per game. 

There's always concern over suspension, especially after Bell served three games last seaso for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. But his on-field talent and recent string of success makes him an elite fantasy option. Now knowing he is going to return to Pittsburgh, this magnified that further. 

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