Jul 17, 2017 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – As the deadline looms for the Steelers to work out a long-term contract extension with Le’Veon Bell, head coach Mike Tomlin remains hopeful a deal will be struck in time to keep the All-Pro running back in Pittsburgh.

Speaking to WAVY-TV in Hampton Roads, Va., while attending an annual football camp there over the weekend, Tomlin said even if a long-term deal isn’t completed, he expects Bell to report to camp with the Steelers at Saint Vincent College July 27.

“I’m optimistic,” Tomlin said when asked if he expect Bell in camp. “The deadline is Monday, you know, and he may even be in camp with a long-term deal.

“I don’t have direct involvement in those things, but obviously I’m watching with keen interest.”

The Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bell to keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. NFL rules give teams until 4 p.m. today to work out a contract extension with tagged players.

If Bell does not get a long-term deal, he would play this season for $12.12 million, a significant raise for the two-time Pro Bowl back. Bell has made $3.8 million in his first four seasons with the Steelers.

Sources say the sticking point in a long-term extension with Bell remains the guaranteed money involved. Bell’s franchise salary in 2017 is fully guaranteed and if the team again places the franchise tag on him in 2018 – at a cost of at least $14 million – that salary also would be fully guaranteed.

Bell, who turned 25 in February, has emerged as one of the top running backs in the NFL in his first four seasons in the league, gaining 6,050 yards from scrimmage in that time despite missing 17 games in that period because of injury or suspension.

He dealt with a foot injury as a rookie in 2013 after the Steelers selected him in the second round of the draft. Then, in the final regular season game of the 2014 season, he suffered a hyperextended knee and missed the playoff loss to Baltimore.

He was suspended the first three games of the 2015 season for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, then suffered a torn MCL at midseason in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the year.

He was again suspended for three games in 2016 for missing mandated drug tests during the offseason but returned for 12 games, sitting out the regular season finale against Cleveland in a coach’s decision. Bell rushed for 1,268 yards and caught 75 passes for 616 yards. His 157 yards from scrimmage per game were the third-best in NFL history.

But he suffered a groin injury during the playoffs and was forced to leave the Steelers’ AFC Championship loss at New England in the first quarter.

Bell’s franchise salary would make him the league’s highest-paid running back by more than $3 million in 2017.