Steelers running back LeVeon Bell looks set to be franchise tagged for the second consecutive season, according to Ian Rapoport. Bell has been pushing for a long term deal for the past year, citing his All Pro level play as being worthy of the biggest contract for a running back in league history. However, the Steelers have been reluctant to pull the trigger on a multi-year deal and have seemingly decided to place the franchise tag on their star back once again. With the March 6 deadline for contract negotiations to be completed approaching rapidly, and the two sides reportedly no closer to an agreement, Bell will have to face another year under the tag. 

If he signs the tag, Bell will earn $14.544 million in 2018. The parties have until July 16 to agree upon a long-term deal, but if that date passes without an agreement Bell would play under the one-year tender again. 

This is something the three-time Pro Bowler has publicly expressed displeasure for. He held out well into training camp last year before agreeing to play under the one year deal, but stated that he may consider retiring if he's forced to do it again in 2018.

It would clearly be a shocking move if he went through with that, but his conviction seemed to hold some element of truth to it so one would think the Steelers would do anything they could to wrap up his services for a long time. 

Bell said. "I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I'm not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I'm not getting what I feel I'm valued at."

The 26-year-old had 321 carries for 1,291 yards and hauled in 85 passes for 655 yards, combining for 11 total touchdowns, in 2017. He had 7,996 total yards through the first 62 career games of his career, the most of any  player over that span since the merger. 

However, despite his outstanding individual production, are the Steelers right not to break the bank to retain his services long term? 

One statistic suggests exactly that. 

It might make for shocking reading, but the Steelers offense has posted the exact same number of points per game (25.3) with Bell in the lineup than without him since he entered the league.

Bell has played 66 games and missed a further 21 since being drafted out of Michigan State in 2013, so the sample size is large enough to draw significant conclusions from. 

Pittsburgh has gone 12-9 in games without Bell over that time, further stressing their lack of dependance on him to produce positive results. 

Clearly the All Pro running back is a valuable asset, but the Steelers reluctancy to give him a big pay day suggests they realise his presence within the organisation won't make or break them going forward.