Bell doesn’t rejoin the Squealers

[Whatever]

There is a difference between a player that has signed a contract and refuses to honor that agreement and a player refusing to sign a contract they feel is unfair.  There is also a big difference between not earning money and having money directly taken out of your pocket.  If Bell was under contract, I would be with you in expecting him to honor the agreement he made.  However I can't fault someone for waiting to sign a contract they don't feel is fair.  Players refuse to sign contracts from their teams that they don't feel are fair all the time.  Players retire because they can't get a contract that pays them what they feel they're worth.  Every player in the league has a limited time to get as much money as they can before the clock strikes midnight.

Bell only has one strike against him on the NFL's substance abuse policy.  Part of the deal that got his second suspension reduced was also that he didn't get a strike for it.  It was a totally ridiculous deal, but he had the NFL over the barrel for leaking confidential medical information.  To me, if the guy is too much of a risk, I trade him for what I can get for him.  I'm not going to offer him 5 years/$70 million and say "Well...I won't give you $80 mil because you have pot busts."  Either I want you around or I don't.  If I'm worried about his knees, I would offer him fewer years, but wouldn't nickel and dime his aav.  If I was the Steelers, personally, I would have traded him and used the picks and money I saved to build up other areas of my team.  I have a franchise QB and arguably the best WR in the game on my offense and don't really need to sink another megadeal into a skill position player.

So, what list do the Steelers have him on?  Active roster?  Reserve/Did not report?  They do not own his rights.  He isn't an Exclusive Rights Free Agent.  As a designated franchise player, the Steelers have the right to match any contract he signs and are owed draft picks if they decline to match, but he is free to negotiate with and sign with any team he chooses.  He's not a Steeler until he signs the contract.