Raiders rumors: Le’Veon Bell linked to Oakland in free agency

Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King believes that the Raiders could be a potential frontrunner for Le’Veon Bell if the Steelers let him hit leave.

For the last couple seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have seen the incredible running abilities—the patience, the vision, the athletic burst—of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. He impacts a game like very few rushers, which is why he’s becoming so expensive at the age of 25.

Last year, the Steelers were quite glad to franchise their star running back to keep the three Killer Bs together, an offensive trio that includes future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and Bell. This coming season, however, Bell’s cost might become cost-prohibitive for a Steelers team that could use those funds to help shore up other areas as well.

Bell is already playing financial hardball, so to speak, which means Pittsburgh is going to have to pay up—either for another single season or for a long-term deal that would undoubtedly make Bell the highest-paid back in the game. Because of the potential of him leaving, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King recently noted that one team that makes sense for Bell as a free agent destination is the Chiefs own rival, the Oakland Raiders.

Per Over the Cap, the Raiders current running back Marshawn Lynch, who signed a two-year, $9 million deal last year, could be cut without the team having to take on dead cap space in 2018. Lynch is also due a cap hit of $5.9 million, which is pricey for an aging running back who just crossed the 10,000 career yard mark.

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Lynch was more productive than some expected last season with a healthy 4.3 yards/carry average and a season total of 891 rushing yards. But Bell is a game-changing back with whom Lynch cannot compete at this point. Most Oakland fans love Lynch as a hometown product, but there’s not a fan around who wouldn’t want to make that exchange in the backfield if Bell were really available.

What could make this change so frustrating for Chiefs fans is that it would give new head coach Jon Gruden an incredible offensive group with which to work. Bell has made the Pro Bowl in three of his five seasons thus far and barely lost this year’s rushing title to Kareem Hunt of the Chiefs. In Bell’s last three games against Kansas City, he’s averaged 178 yards from scrimmage, including a strong showing in the postseason of 2016.

Bell is going to make an instant impact on any team he ends up with, whether that means he remains with Pittsburgh as an AFC power to contend with or he lands with the Raiders and turns their offense into an elite unit. For the Chiefs, the battle will be the same either way to stop Bell—a losing one as long as the bend-but-don’t-break approach continues to win out.