Did Le'Veon Bell sign his franchise tag? Steelers RB doesn't report, is ineligible to play in 2018
And with that, the Le'Veon Bell saga has reached a conclusion lacking fireworks, grand arrivals, or last-minute surprises. On Tuesday, the 4 p.m. ET deadline for Bell to report and sign his franchise tag with the Steelers came and went, which means Bell definitely won't play football this season and almost definitely won't play for the Steelers ever again. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported 15 minutes before the deadline that Bell wouldn't be showing up. Sure enough, he didn't, which Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert confirmed after the deadline passed. Bell is ineligible to play football this year. "So be it," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said a couple hours before the deadline, via NFL.com. The saga really began all the way back in the spring of 2017, when the Steelers hit Bell with the franchise tag. Bell held out the entire summer as the two sides failed to agree to an extension. But he showed up in September and proceeded to total 1,946