Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell undergoes surgery
The Steelers may yet sign Le鈥橵eon Bell to a long-term contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh for his career, as GM Kevin Colbert said last month, but the decision to place the franchise tag on the star running back in the interim looks a little more prescient now.
On Monday, Bell underwent surgery to repair his injured groin. Yes, the same injured groin that was not listed on the Steelers鈥� practice report leading up to the AFC Championship game and which severely limited him in the loss to the New England Patriots.
Bell told reporters in Houston during Super Bowl week that surgery was an option and that he was seeking a third opinion. Apparently, eight weeks after the Steelers鈥� season ended in Foxborough, the decision to have surgery was made after not healing properly on its own.
Bell should be healthy in time for the start of training camp in late July, though he鈥檒l likely be little more than a spectator for spring practice.
So, the Steelers didn鈥檛 invest up to $15 million a season for the next few years on Bell. Under the franchise tag, the Steelers are only on the line for $12.1 million for the 2017 season.
The Steelers may still do a long-term deal at some point, but given Monday蘑菇视频 news, there蘑菇视频 no urgency to do it between now and July 15, the deadline to work out such a deal. The Steelers could also use their franchise tag on Bell in 2018, at which point, the running back will be 27 and have played six seasons.
If you鈥檙e keeping score, this is the second year in a row that Bell will have major surgery after having a procedure on his torn MCL/PCL in November of 2015.