Le’Veon Bell is expected to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Week 7 bye, that is, if he hasn’t already packed up his stuff and headed down Interstate 76.
The Steelers, who have looked disjointed during their 1-2-1 start, reportedly have been looking at potentially trading the star running back as he has elected to sit out the first four games due to an ongoing contract dispute. A number of teams have been linked as potential trade partners for the Steelers, the latest of which being the defending Super Bowl champions.
On Wednesday, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora went on “Marks and Reese” on 94WIP, and reported the Philadelphia Eagles are  looking into a trade for Bell.
“Giving it serious consideration,” La Canfora said. “Is it feasible? Are they able to pull it off? We shall see, but it’s certainly something that has been ruminating there for a few weeks, and obviously, he’s an impact player when he’s healthy and in anything close to football shape and there aren’t a whole lot of other guys like him who become available in this league period, much less in this league around the trade deadline, and we’ve seen them make aggressive, bold, strong, smart moves in the past, so yeah, there’s certainly a will there. But will it end up making sense? That remains to be seen based on what it would cost from the Steelers ultimately, and then also, are the Eagles able to move some contracts around, clear a little cap space so they could absorb a contract like this without too much fuss.”
What would a potential deal for Bell cost? Not as much as you might think.
“In their sort of dream scenario, they get a second-round pick for him,” La Canfora said. “That may end up proving to be ambitious. If he left as a free agent, the way the comp pick thing, sort of, equation works out, they’d likely end up, in their estimation, getting a late third-round pick, basically a pick between the third and fourth rounds, for his services in 2020. I think ultimately they’ll take that same third-round pick in 2019, especially if it’s in the NFC and they don’t have to worry about facing Le’Veon Bell in January.”
The Eagles currently sit at 2-2, and are coming off an overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans that saw their offense convert only five third downs and rush for just 117 yards. Championship windows are small and normally close fast. Philadelphia hasn’t looked like the juggernaut that rolled to a Super Bowl title a mere eight months ago, but the addition of Bell would give them a much-needed offensive playmaker next to quarterback Carson Wentz and could vault them back into the upper echelon of the NFC.
