NFL Rumors: Eagles Seriously Considering Trading For Steelers Le’Veon Bell, Per ‘CBS Sports’

Running back Le’Veon Bell wants to play football and he wants to do it in 2018. That is why he intends on reporting to the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Week 7 bye — which will end a very long holdout. Even though he will be back with his team, that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be happy with how things have gone in the interim. That’s why trade rumors are swirling — and the Philadelphia Eagles are coming in strongest on the radar.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported at the beginning of this week, via Twitter, that Bell is heading back to work for the Steelers. Nothing has been rectified between him and the team as far as his contract goes, however, and that intimates that there is still some animosity between the two parties.

Bell is saying that he wants to continue playing for the Steelers past this season, but it’s hard to know if that is entirely truthful. There have been many feuds between him and his current team, and the reality is that he may very well be traded before the end of October.

According to CBS Sports, the Philadelphia Eagles have been “mulling the potential” of a trade for Le’Veon Bell for quite a while now. It would not be out of the question for him to have a new uniform before the 2018 NFL trade deadline arrives — but some work would need to be done.

What Must Be Done For The Philadelphia Eagles To Acquire Le’Veon Bell by former agent and salary cap expert @corryjoel (Unlocked article) https://t.co/Rr1wsLKruZ pic.twitter.com/QSkWtbjSwq

— Family of John Clayton (@JohnClaytonNFL) October 4, 2018

A trade for Le’Veon Bell is one that could happen between the Eagles and Steelers, but all of the pieces would need to be decided upon. Going past that whole ordeal, John Clayton of Clayton Football revealed that the Eagles would need to work around a lot of pieces to be able to afford trading for Bell.

In order for the Eagles to have enough salary cap room to take on Bell’s current salary, they would need to afford his $9.41 million franchise tag. At the current time, they only have a little over $3.775 million of salary cap room available.

The Eagles could work under the cap by cutting some players — or even restructuring the contracts of those on the roster. It’s not out of the question, and they have the time, but there is some serious logistical work that needs to be done if they actually plan on trading for Bell.

Le’Veon Bell returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Week 7 bye is almost certainly a strategic move by the player to publicly display his current value. The bye week happens before the October 30th trade deadline, and it is quite possible that the Philadelphia Eagles could end up having him on their roster before all is said and done.

If they’re going to do it, though — it’s time to start cutting costs somewhere.