Report: If Steelers franchise tag Le'Veon Bell for third time, it would be for QB salary

The soap opera starring holdout running back Le'Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers continues, and what's next might not be as black and white as whether Bell feels like reporting to the team before a Nov. 13 deadline, making him eligible to play this season.

NFL Network's Austin Knoblauch explains:

The Steelers could franchise tag Bell for a third time in 2019, but he would be tagged at the quarterback salary number, not the lower number he was tagged at this year, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

"My understanding is the NFL management council and the NFL Players' Association, the parties that negotiated the collective bargaining agreement, are on the same page that if Bell were tagged a third time, whether he shows up this season, whether he sits out the entire year, that tag would be at the higher quarterback number, not the lower number similar to what he would be due under the franchise tag this year," Pelissero said on NFL Up To the Minute on Tuesday. "It would be extremely unlikely for the Steelers to put that higher third franchise tag on Le'Veon Bell. That would set up a scenario where they'd tag him a third time, the number is upwards of $25 million and Bell, if he wanted to, could walk in the day he's tagged, sign it and be owed $25 million for one season."

In addition, the Steelers and the NFL don't plan to argue that his 2018 tag should carry over next year.

More from Aditi Kinkhabwala via Twitter:

And via Bell:

For those who can't easily flip the screen upside down:

"Just about everybody has an opinion on my life & worried about what I’m doing. Don’t judge me off my decisions because maybe this isn’t what you’d do but most people don’t take the time to just simply read between the lines & that’s clearly on them. I’m not apologizing for what I believe is right for myself, family, and rest of my peers, period. Also, if you’re really finding the time to figure out what I’m saying, you’ve proved my point."

On Monday afternoon, Bell bid farewell to Miami, where he's been working out - fueling speculation that he might be ending his holdout and returning to the team.

Earlier, Steelers three-time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro said Bell's return to the team "just doesn’t matter."

The Steelers improved to 5-2-1 with Sunday's win against the Baltimore Ravens to remain in first place in the AFC North. Earlier this season, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Ravens but lost to the Steelers. They travel to Baltimore on Nov. 18 and visit Pittsburgh on Dec. 30.

The Bengals have lost seven consecutive games - including the AFC Wild Card Playoff game in January of 2016 - to the Steelers.

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Last week, Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale suggested that the Steelers are better off without Bell.

Earlier this season, the Steelers were "actively shopping" Bell, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. But their window for trading Bell this season closed last Tuesday at 4 p.m., as he would have had to sign his franchise tender before the trade deadline.

Bell responded on Instagram to teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster's suggestion that he bought 100-plus Mega Millions tickets "so we could get Le'Veon back" with the comment, "everybody think they kevin hart huh?"

Steelers running back James Conner, who has impressed in Bell's absence, recently told FS1's First Things First that Bell has reached out to him throughout this season, sending text messages of support.

Steelers quarterback and former Miami University standout Ben Roethlisberger suggested that Conner performed well against the Atlanta Falcons because he's "tired of hearing about Le'Veon so much."