[PilotMan]

Bell should go to the Browns. He would be a fantastic weapon for them, and he'd get to see his teammates a couple times a year and he'd be in Cleveland.

Well, he figures that a one year contract, at the franchise tag, wasn't worth the physical toll and risk to his body. He believes that this lost year in his prime won't have a big impact on his overall career production and will help another team see that he can get the contract he wants with that one year less of beatings. He does grasp that running backs have very short careers compared to where they were, which is part of why he wants WR money. I actually think, he's playing a very smart game. It's a bigger gamble than other guys take, but he is hoping that his payoff is going to be the bigger contract he wants.

Here's where it gets really, really murky though. He's banking on his own talent, but football is a game of 53 guys, and they can have an impact on your own career too. He may not have the talent around him to be the player he was with Pittsburgh. Many, many guys have left only to a fraction as effective as they were with the Steelers. Plus, other teams do have to take his commitment to the team into consideration. I don't think that he'll get anywhere near the money that he thinks he will, but I do admire his decision to stick with his plan, for better or worse.

It's best for the Steelers that he not come back. More trouble than it's worth at this point, and a sigh of relief for Connor and the team in general. Plus they keep with the tradition that no player is worth tanking the team over. Especially a player who has had suspensions, injuries, come back out of shape and plays a position that has been shown to be replaceable with the youth coming out of college. Good on them too.