Schefter: Le'Veon Bell may hold out first half of Steelers' season

Pittsburgh Steelers franchise-tagged running back Le'Veon Bell could hold out for the first half of the 2018 season if a long-term deal isn't reached, ESPN's Adam Schefter said Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

What It Means:

Monday afternoon is the deadline for a franchise-tagged player to sign a long-term deal, so if the two sides can't come to terms by 4pm ET, Schefter suggests Bell may start thinking about his future outside of Pittsburgh. "The goal at that point would be to hit 2019 free agency healthy, not rack up another 400 touches," Schefter said. Bell turned 26 in February.

Assuming he plays a full 16 games, numberFire's models have Bell as the top overall running back in our preseason fantasy football rankings. We expect him to total 1,398.8 yards and 10.15 touchdowns on the ground, with another 662.9 yards and 2.79 touchdowns on 81.5 catches.