Bell sat out the entire 2018 season after he and the Steelers could not come to an agreement in the offseason on a long-term deal. After many speculations of when/if Bell would eventually return to the team, it never happened. Almost no one predicted he would sit out an entire season over a contract dispute.
In most cases when a player sits out over contract disputes, the team and the player can still negotiate a deal while the player holds out. This was not the case with the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell. After the July 16th deadline to knock out a long-term contract passed, the only way Bell could play in 2018 was on the franchise tag for $14.