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Steelers, RB Bell Fail To Reach Agreement

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Le’Veon Bell’s next season with the Pittsburgh Steelers will almost certainly be his last.

The Pro Bowl running back and the defending AFC North champions failed to reach an agreement on a new contract by Monday’s deadline, meaning he will play under the franchise tag for a second straight year and hit the open market next spring.

Bell tweeted that “both sides worked extremely hard” to try and find common ground but ultimately could not.

“The NFL is a hard business at times … to the fans that had hope, I’m sorry we let you down but trust me, 2018 will be my best season to date,” Bell posted.

The 26-year-old Bell is one of the league’s most versatile players and he has long maintained he wants to be paid accordingly. In addition to serving as a workhorse in the backfield — his 321 rushing attempts last season led the NFL — he also caught 85 passes, good enough for 10th in the league.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the team will make another attempt to re-sign Bell in the 2019 offseason, but another Pro Bowl-type season by Bell would likely make him too expensive.

Bell will make $14.5 million whenever he signs his franchise tender, which likely won’t be until the end of training camp. It’s the path Bell followed last summer after the Steelers placed the franchise tag on him for the first time.

He arrived the weekend after the end of the exhibition season and got off to a bit of a slow start before finding his footing in October while helping the Steelers to a second straight division title and fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

The depth chart behind Bell is uneven at best. James Conner showed signs during his rookie season last fall before a knee injury. The team drafted Jaylen Samuels — who did a little bit of everything at North Carolina State — in the fifth round this spring. Samuels was an effective receiver for the Wolfpack but he lacks Bell’s unique overall skillset.

One the Steelers — barring an unusual turn of events — will have in the fold for just one more year.

MNF

NEW YORK (AP) — Boomer Esiason is dropping his national radio duties on NFL Monday night games.

Esiason was the analyst on Westwood One’s broadcast for 18 years, sharing the booth with Kevin Harlan and, before that, Marv Albert and Howard David. The 1988 NFL MVP called the Super Bowl for each of those seasons.

Citing his daily drive-time radio show in New York and his work on CBS and Showtime studio shows, Esiason said Monday “the timing was right for me to step away.”

A 14-year NFL veteran who led the Bengals to the 1988 AFC title, Esiason made four Pro Bowls. He ranks first among left-handed quarterbacks with 247 touchdown passes, and 19th overall.

After his son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, Esiason created the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) in 1993 to fund research to find a cure for the deadly disease. Its mission is to provide a higher quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis. In addition, BEF provides education, awareness, and scholarships for people with the disease.

PACKERS

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers’ profit fell by nearly 50 percent in the last fiscal year as the team missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

President and CEO Mark Murphy says the outlook for the Packers remains strong as the NFL’s only publicly owned team released its 2018 financial statement. The Packers announced a profit from operations of $34.1 million, a steep decline from $65.4 million a year earlier. Expenses soared 11.9 percent, from $376.1 million to $420.9 million, a byproduct of player salaries, coaching changes and travel costs. Revenue increased just 3.1 percent to $454.9 million.

Local revenue grew by a scant 0.8 percent. A 7-9 record – the team’s first losing season since 2008 – hurt the bottom line.

JETS

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets waived 2015 second-round draft pick Devin Smith and signed safety Brandon Bryant on Monday.

Smith, a wide receiver from Ohio State, couldn’t stay healthy or provide anything on the field for the team. He played in 14 games with only 10 receptions. Twice, Smith suffered major knee injuries.

Bryant struggled to concentrate on football after his father died in a 2015 motorcycle crash. Bryant was arrested for driving under the influence later on. Academically ineligible for next season, he declared for the NFL’s supplemental draft but was not chosen last week.

At Mississippi State, he had five interceptions and 157 tackles in three seasons while appearing in 37 games.

The Jets used their top two picks in the 2017 draft on safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.

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