The Pittsburgh Steelers Should Be Pissed At The Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams just put the Pittsburgh Steelers in a tough spot. Earlier this week, it was announced that the Rams inked RB Todd Gurley to the richest contract ever for an RB at 4 years and $60 million ($45 million guaranteed). While this bodes well for the future of the Rams and financial stability for Gurley, it’s a slap in the face for Le’Veon Bell.
Earlier this offseason, the Steelers, and Bell could not come to terms on a long-term deal. The Steelers offered Bell a five-year deal for $70 million but Bell really scoffed at the guaranteed money of only $10 million. Now while some may look at Bell’s checkered past and say the Steelers were just protecting themselves, fans know this is bullcrap.
[MarkAds]Did Gurley deserve that money? Yes. He’s a dynamic player on the right side of 30. However, looking at stats and what Bell brings to the Steelers, it’s clear Bell has every reason to gripe. Let’s make this as simple as possible for most. Gurley has played in 44 regular season games and has rushed for 3296 yards and 29 touchdowns on 786 attempts. But that’s not the end of his contributions. Gurley has also caught 128 passes for 1301 yards and six touchdowns.
lol and ppl thought I was trippin?…
— Le’Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) July 24, 2018
On the flipside of the coin is Bell who has played in 62 regular season games and has rushed for 5336 yards and 35 touchdowns on 1229 attempts. Bell has also caught 312 passes for 2660 yards and seven touchdowns. At first glance, it will reveal that they are running neck and neck production wise but a closer look will show that Bell is one of the main reasons the Steelers are labeled as Suoer Bowl threats every season.
Yes, Gurley production made the Rams one of the elite teams, but the issue here is can they maintain their position? The Pittsburgh Steelers are annual playoffs attendees while the Rams just broke through last season. If Gurley is labeled the headliner in Los Angeles, what does that make Bell in Pittsburgh? So, if any back were to receive the richest contract in NFL history, the Steelers should have made sure it was their player.
What the Los Angeles Rams did was upstage the Pittsburgh Steelers and now they must go back to the table and offer Bell a bigger contract. While that may not be in their plans, Bell can play out this season and bolt to another team just to be spiteful. With Ben Roethlisberger’s career winding down, the Steelers could find themselves in a tough spot. What happens if he decides to call it quits after this season? As much as Bell does on the ground, it’s also worth noting how important he is to the passing game and the All-Pro numbers that Antonio Brown puts up.
If the Steelers cannot resolve this issue with Le’Veon Bell, then they may have a bigger one on their hands with Brown. Think about that. No Big Ben or Bell and now Brown is on an island alone.
The Steelers felt they had the upper hand not thinking that the Los Angeles Rams or any other team would offer a RB that much guaranteed money.
[BXReporter]
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
