Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell has been assigned the franchise tag, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The two sides have until July 16 to finalize a long-term deal, but if no agreement is made, then Bell is now locked into $14.5 million in 2018. He's expected to skip training camp again if a multi-year contract isn't in place by then.
Bell averaged 20.3 FanDuel points in 15 games last season, with 321 carries for 1,291 yards and 9 touchdowns, in addition to 85 catches (106 targets) for 655 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Source: Ian Rapoport