Le'Veon Bell keeps saying he wants to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers keep saying they want to keep one of the NFL's best running backs in the fold for years to come.

They have until July 16 to make it happen.

The Steelers placed the exclusive rights franchise tag on the two-time All-Pro for a second straight spring on Tuesday [url=http://www.texanscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-deshaun-watson-jersey]Deshaun Watson Jersey Red[/url] , putting Bell's long-term status with the club up in the air.

Bell, a two-time All Pro, accounted for 1,946 total yards and 11 touchdowns for the AFC North champions in 2017. Both Bell and Steelers management said after the season they hoped to get a contract extension done quickly, but failed to do so by Tuesday's deadline for teams to use the franchise tag.

Bell is scheduled to make $14.54 million in 2018 if he signs the franchise tender and the two sides are unable to reach an agreement on a new deal. He skipped offseason workouts and training camp last summer before signing the tender on the eve of the regular season. The absence led to a sluggish start, though he was an indispensable part of Pittsburgh's offense once again [url=http://www.broncoscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-demaryius-thomas-jersey]Demaryius Thomas Jersey Navy Blue[/url] , breaking his own club record by catching 85 passes.

The 25-year-old made the 2017 All-Pro team at the "flex" position, one he considered a tribute to his versatility. Bell said repeatedly over the past year he believes he's different than other backs in the league and wants to be paid accordingly. He is arguably the best receiving back in the NFL and he's averaged nearly 25 touches a game in five seasons, though he's only been healthy at the end of the year twice. Bell has twice been suspended by the NFL for violations of the substance abuse policy.

Bell turned down a long-term deal with the Steelers last summer and told ESPN in January he would consider retiring if the Steelers used the franchise tag on him again. He backtracked a bit during the Pro Bowl when he said he believed a new contract was in the works. It was a sentiment echoed by both Steelers president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert early in the offseason.

Pittsburgh's depth behind Bell is thin. James Conner carried the ball 32 times during his rookie season and the club signed Stevan Ridley at the end of the regular season as insurance. Bell tweeted Monday that regardless of the circumstances he wants to remain with the Steelers.

"Pittsburgh: the city that took in a 21-year old kid from small-town Ohio, the city I battled thru adversity in, the city that I became a man in," Bell tweeted. "I love everything about being a Pittsburgh Steeler [url=http://www.brownscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-denzel-ward-jersey]http://www.brownscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-denzel-ward-jersey[/url] , and I want nothing more than to finish the rest of my career in Pitt!"
A jury in St. Louis on Tuesday ordered the NFL’s Rams to pay former running back Reggie Bush $12.5 million for a severe knee injury he suffered in 2015, the team’s final season in St. Louis before moving to Los Angeles.

The jury found the Rams 100 percent liable for Bush’s injury and ordered the team to pay $4.95 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Attorneys for the Rams said they plan to file a motion for a new trial.

Bush was playing for the San Francisco 49ers when he was pushed out of bounds during a game on Nov. 1, 2015, at what was then the Edward Jones Dome, now known as the Dome at America’s Center. He slipped on a surface that the lawsuit dubbed the ”concrete ring of death [url=http://www.texanscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-j.j.-watt-jersey]http://www.texanscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-j.j.-watt-jersey[/url] ,” about 35 feet (11 meters) behind the 49ers’ bench.

Bush suffered a season-ending left knee injury. The lawsuit contended the injury undermined his earnings as a player for the rest of his career. He signed with Buffalo in 2016 and retired in 2017. Now 33, he works as an analyst for the NFL Network.

”Reggie lost his ability to do what he loved, and to bargain for a contract that he worked his entire life for,” Bush’s lawyer Tim Cronin said during closing statements. ”These players get chewed up. They only have so many chances.”

Bush also sued public agencies that own and operate the dome, but a judge dismissed them from the suit last week after ruling that the team had control of game-day operations.

Just a week before Bush’s injury, Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown slid across the same concrete stretch and injured his shoulder.

The concrete surface in the dome was covered with rubber padding two weeks after Bush was injured.

Rams attorney Dan Allmayer said the team should not be held responsible for Bush’s injury because it could not have foreseen a dangerous condition. He noted that no one besides McCown and Bush had been injured there over 20 seasons played at the dome.

Allmayer said Bush’s injury was caused by ”pre-existing issues [url=http://www.broncoscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-von-miller-jersey]Von Miller Jersey Navy Blue[/url] ,” not the fall on the concrete.

NFL owners approved the request from Rams owner Stan Kroenke to move the team to Los Angeles in 2016.
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