Le’Veon Bell to ‘consider’ retirement if Steelers franchise-tag him again

For all the drama surrounding Kirk Cousins’s contract situation, at least the Washington Redskins quarterback hasn’t threatened to sit out next season, or even retire, if he gets franchise tagged again.

That’s exactly what Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell did Thursday, telling ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler he’d consider leaving football if the Steelers placed the franchise tag on him for a second straight year.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I would definitely consider it,” the 25-year-old said, adding that he would “probably be done” with football if he sat out the 2018 season. 

The three-time Pro Bowler played on a $12.1 million franchise tag this year, rushing for 1,291 yards on a league-high 321 carries. Bell reportedly rejected a long-term contract offer from Pittsburgh earlier this season because he didn’t feel the dollar amounts matched the value he brought to the team.

“Just get the numbers straight exactly where we want them,” Bell responded when asked how the Steelers should handle his contract situation. “I’m not going to settle for anything. 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.

“I don’t necessarily care about the money aspect of it. I just want to be valued where I’m at,” he continued. “If I am playing this game, I want to set standards for all the other running backs behind me like Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon, guys like that. I’m a guy they can kind of look at. I feel I can do that. I’m in a position where I can do that and I’m going to do it.”