Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Reasons to end all Le’Veon Bell trade rumors

It’s time for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans to end all Le’Veon Bell trade rumors, and we’ve got three of about the ten or so reasons why a deal won’t get done.

Yes, we know. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is one of the more talented ball carriers in the entire NFL, but it needs to be said. The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t making any serious attempts to trade for him. and they’re exactly right for not doing so.

Yes, there’s no Darren Sproles and no Jay Ajayi. Yes, Bell is an accomplished blocker, and he’d help both the protection of Carson Wentz and the passing game tremendously, but there are a ton of explanations for why this trade can’t and won’t happen.

We’ll just give you three of the most obvious reasons why a deal, at this point, can’t be made.

1. There’s a trade deadline, and he still hasn’t signed his franchise tender.

This is the one that’s the most obvious. The Pittsburgh Steelers attempted to franchise Bell at the beginning of this season, and at this point, that franchise tender remains unsigned.

Nothing happens until he signs it.

Bell, wants somewhere in the area of $10 million or more. It seems as though that’s too hefty of a price tag for a back when the Eagles actually rely on a rotational system.

Then there’s the trade deadline, which is October 30th at 4 PM EST, and the fact that Bell has yet to step foot in the Steelers’ facility. Some say he might return during the team’s bye week, but that isn’t a certainty.

The clock is ticking, and we’re running out of time for anything to be done.

2. His contract ends at the end of the season and Philly’s got more pressing needs.

The Eagles have quite a few core players who are at the end of their current deals, and though a restructure was done for Fletcher Cox, they haven’t freed up enough money to re-sign Brandon Graham, Ronald Darby, Jordan Hicks and Jay Ajayi if, indeed, those guys are in the plans for the future.

Oh. Did we mention Bell’s deal ends after this season?

Does it seem like a good plan to bring him in for ten games or less when we know we’ll be right back in the position of having to re-sign him after 2018’s season ends?

We’ve already learned his asking price isn’t going to be cheap.

3. Locker room chemistry can’t be overstated.

If we haven’t learned anything else about ‘The Birds’, we’ve learned that this is, indeed, a family. Players have allowed their own deals to be restructured in an attempt to keep the nucleus of this roster together.

Signing Bell will, all but, short circuit much of that.

Distractions have been kept to a minimum, and to some degree, Bell’s already caused one without even suiting up for the Eagles in a single game.

The Eagles have done well to this point in mixing free agent signings with finding contributors via the draft.

Sure, things can be better, but they’ve been decent.

You can find good players in the draft (Wendell Smallwood). You can find great undrafted guys as well (Corey Clement). You don’t have to break the bank for a guy who’s managed to destroy a relationship with a historic franchise who, honestly, hasn’t really treated him unfairly.