Agent: Bell concerned about overuse

When Mike Tomlin talked about running Willie Parker until the "wheels came off" in 2007, little did he know it would come back to haunt him.

Speaking to Sirius XM Blitz on Wednesday, Adisa Bakari, the agent for running back Le'Veon Bell, said that sentiment has he and the star running back concerned and is the reason why Bell has not reported to the team and signed his franchise tender offer.

Bakari was asked why Bell had not showed up this week as he did a year ago in the same situation and responded with this answer:

"I’m not going to answer our plan publicly, but I’ll offer this question to you, you’re Kevin Colbert, you’re Mike Tomlin and you have a once-in-a-generation player for one more season. What would your plan be?"

Bell, who is slated to make $14.5 million this season in his second year playing on the franchise tag, reported on the Monday before the regular season opener last year and played for $12.1 million.

But with the Steelers now less than a week before opening the season in Cleveland on Sept. 9, he has chosen to stay away and perhaps forfeit $850,000 per week in doing so.

Bell, who led the NFL with 406 touches in just 15 games a year ago, wanted a long-term contract with the Steelers and turned down an offer from the team worth a reported $13 million per season.

With it becoming apparent Bell has no intention of reporting this week, the question then turns to when the star running back might report. To have this season qualify for a full contract season, he must show up and sign his deal no more than 10 weeks into the season.

That would seem to be in direct conflict with what Bakari said earlier this year when the two sides were unable to reach a long-term deal.

At that time, Bakari said the plan was for the two-time All-Pro to do as he had a year ago. That would have meant signing his deal, reporting to practice on Labor Day and playing a full season.

"If memory serves, I said Le’Veon intends to make this the best season of his career," Bakari told Sirius. "That hasn’t changed. That is his intention, to make this the best statistical season of his career."

But, he also noted that something could change that.

"We had something exceptional occur," Bakari said.

That would seem to suggest Bell is, in fact, upset by some of the deals signed in recent weeks around the league.

Receiver Odell Beckham signed a 5-year, $90-million deal two weeks ago that included $65 million in guaranteed money.

Then, late last week, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive end Khalil Mack, both of whom had been holding out while under contact, got new deals.

Donald got $135 million over six years, with $87 million guaranteed, while Mack forced a trade from Oakland to Chicago. He then received a $141 million deal over six seasons, with $90 million guaranteed, from the Bears.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY