Licht Survival = Le’Veon Bell?
November 15th, 2018
Interesting take here from one of the more reasoned and seasoned analysts in the game.
As NFL fans know, All-World running back Le’Veon Bell likely will be the big prize of free agency when the dinner bell rings in March. He forfeited this season with the Steelers because they wouldn’t offer him a new contract. Instead, the veratile star will cash in with a new team next year.
Hall of Fame voter and senior Yahoo! Sports NFL writer Terez Paylor, via the video below, believes the No. 1 landing spot for him would be Tampa. He explains that if Jason Licht or Dirk Koetter survive (keyword: or), then they’ll be in such a win-now mode and need a running back so desperately, that Bell would be a perfect match.
There’s more in the video.
This is all a very fun thought, but if the Bucs have a market-value starting quarterback and a break-the-bank running back, rebuilding the broken defense will become very challenging.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:02 am
Yeah add more cancer to the locker room.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:07 am
Please no, cancerous teammate. Gurly, Kamara, Hunt. etc.. you can get a cheap RB in the draft and run him into the ground. Besides, what makes anyone think he can find holes with this OL? Granted the OL should have new faces next year.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:08 am
Yeah this is great and all, but how does Dirk Koetter survive the season? He looks like a defeated man. Jason Licht might be out the door too if the season just completely bottoms out.
Now, if these guys survive or not I still think it’s worth looking into Bell if the Bucs cap situation allows for it. I have to think the Steelers didn’t want Bell to come back with the success of Connor and I would guess that Bell’s agent has gauged the market as best as possible for his client. Or not, who knows with Bell these days.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:09 am
Should have given up a 2nd Rd pick for him. Now it will be a bidding war for his services
November 15th, 2018 at 10:11 am
I don’t want him….. he is garbage.
The Steelers, as a team, are 100 times better with James Conner. He is a rallying point for them. With Bell, they could not wait to tear his name off his locker.
I do not want him on the Bucs.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:14 am
No thanks. Build through the draft and focus on HC and GM to execute.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:14 am
Can Bell play defense? Kick?
November 15th, 2018 at 10:16 am
shouldve drafted guice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and dont give me that “he’s hurt now” BS….mightve not even happened if he was a buc……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
November 15th, 2018 at 10:16 am
before we spend money on a running back we should spend money on an offensive line that can run block!
Stop putting the cart before the horse
November 15th, 2018 at 10:18 am
Bucsfanman Says:
November 15th, 2018 at 10:14 am
Can Bell play defense? Kick?
______
LOL
November 15th, 2018 at 10:18 am
The Glazers aren’t letting this staff do anything else!
November 15th, 2018 at 10:19 am
Sooo, you want a running back that has proven he won’t honor a contract he signed. Yeah. Nice.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:19 am
Twenty million times NO
November 15th, 2018 at 10:19 am
Top 5 offenses make the playoffs these days, top 5 defenses struggle for a .500 record.
On offense you’re gonna need playmakers to be elite. On defense you need a coach/coordinator to build a competitive unit that outperforms the sum of its parts.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:21 am
The guy is sitting out a whole season. So pay a selfish player top rb in the league money by far after he missed a year? Sounds like a move that’s set up for failure. No thanks. Need an OL that can run block instead. Time to stop overpaying and find out what the new coaches philoshophy will be before any speculation. Maybe even new gm. The RBs here arent bad. Hard to run when the dline is in the backfield
November 15th, 2018 at 10:23 am
And we are bitching and moaning about Desean Jackson’s attitude?!?!?!
Last thing we need is another high priced Diva. Especially a high price running back.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:26 am
We are still feeling the punch in the gut for the players we didn’t want because the were bad for the team…, Legerette Blount, Aqib Talib, Michael Bennett. So would we want a talented RB, proven already. We watch talent like DJ Swearinger, Mason Foster, Donald Penn, Mark Barron, Bradley McDougal leave town, are they great players, nope but are good players for the core of a team. Oh yeah, why not, AP (All Day Peterson) wanted to ball here, we are ready to get rid of DJax (Doug Martin averaging over 4 yard per carry), so why would we want talent. We will pay Beau Allen, Mitch, Gholston, Jensen, Conte and Chandler the kicker). I’m confused as how much the fans, the coaches and the GM really want to put the best players on the field that you have the opportunity to get. We wouldn’t give up a second for Landon Collins because all our second round players cos have been so great. Jameis will also be let go and go somewhere else to succeed.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:29 am
Last time we won ten games, who was on the team? The same kind of players we do not want.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:29 am
How about drafting your own Bell? Mmmm, yeah, sorry. Thanks Jason Licht for drafting the worst RB in the draft two years in a row when we had no running game. Licht is the worst FA signer in the league as far as value and production is concerned. I would never let him try to escape doing his real job by signing Bell.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:30 am
with our oline he would struggle.Bell isnt going to commit career suicide by signing with a team with a horrible Oline.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:31 am
This website calls for more used up vets than Jon Gruden. That is called irony, Folks.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:32 am
Here is what blows my mind about Le’Veon……
The guy is suspended TWICE for personal reasons…….. to the point that he tearfully begged his teammates for forgiveness and to accept him again…
To which his Steelers teammates DID accept him and bring him back into the fold….
Only to have him sell them down the river for an entire season, this year.
It’s pathetic. And it’s why the Steelers players literally ripped his name off his locker yesterday, and divided all the goods in his locker.
What NFL player would want to go to battle next to that guy? We don’t need him on the Bucs.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:34 am
I’d rather have Benny Snell Jr over the next 4yrs, for less than one year of Bell.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:42 am
@813bucboi… amen. I thought i was the only one saying it. Shaq, chubb and guice looked like pro bowlers and we pass over guice. One more incredibly dumb move by jason. Did he watch tape? Was he just looking for sims 2.0?
November 15th, 2018 at 10:43 am
too many holes on roster. Grab another rb in free agency or draft or both and spend all that $ elsewhere.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:50 am
That guy’s own teammates didn’t want him back and we should take him? Besides, there are no holes to run through anyway. One more thing, name anyone that held out for an entire season and came back as good as he was before the holdout.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:50 am
If he comes to TB he’ll be back to smoking BLOUNTS in no time.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:03 am
Jason Licht deserves to be fired more than anyone else. He has overestimated the talent on the roster repeatedly.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:22 am
Has Bell ever played a full season?
I read an article saying that he has been hurt in every playoff game that he’s played in.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:22 am
Le’veon Bell would be a terrible signing.
He is HIGHLY-overated.
He is OK, but definitely NOT a Top-10 RB in the League OUTSIDE of the Steelers system. Mark that down.
He was Elite in THEIR system only.
He is not very special when you compare his pure ability/talent/speed/athleticism to the other Top RB’s.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:27 am
@D-Rome, he has overestimated the talent ? We have the number one offense in the league, regardless of who the QB is. The fact we can’t score in the red zone isn’t Licht’s fault.
Our defense is struggling of course, but injuries have killed any chance of building a cohesive unit. They have,however, continued to play hard and have improved quite a bit since Mike Smith was fired.
You can’t put all this on Licht. Be careful what you wish for when it comes to him being fired. The coaching staff however……….
November 15th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Almost as dumb as the Eli speculation.
Bell is very good but we don’t need prima donnas.
Build the lines and draft a real effing RB.
I’ve supported Licht until this year, RoJo looks like a big mistake.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Typo *overrated
Anyway,
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE.
I guarantee Le’veon wouldn’t even be able to beat out Peyton Barber, based on pure ability alone; but Le’veon would be gifted the #1 spot bcuz of the investment…
November 15th, 2018 at 11:44 am
I’d rather us take that money and fix the defense
November 15th, 2018 at 11:46 am
^^ amen.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:48 am
Licht completely blew this draft. He does not get another chance.
November 15th, 2018 at 11:55 am
heck no
November 15th, 2018 at 11:57 am
I dont want licht touching anything after this season. Hes butchered enough drafts. Especially this last years draft.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:03 pm
Licht’s track record of drafting RBs is absolutely horrendous. Getting Bell would be better than him wasting another draft pick on an RB. That is if he does not fired and there is a good possibility that he will.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Licht is the biggest problem in the organization. I do like how he was able to maneuver and wheel and deal on draft day but he just seems to always choose the wrong guys. He traded up in the 2nd round for a kicker. I’m still mad about that. I like OJ howard a lot but the fact is we had brate. We drafted two WAC12 players. We should’ve stayed in the SEC or drafted florida natives. Jameis Winston had red flags all over him….I get the talent but we saw his lack of maturity in college. He threw a ton of pics in college…. how do you just figure those are gonna magically disappear. We shouldn’t of drafted him. I’m just a fan and technically I shouldn’t be an expert but it was very obvious to me that we needed to sign depth in the secondary during this past free agency. you can’t rely on the middle round rookies to hold the fort. It was ridiculous and complete stupidity. I was actually wanting to give Koetter a mulligan until he decided to take over the play calling….. now that may of sealed his fate.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Watch this…
Keep Jameis.
Sign Bell.
Draft for the trenches and the secondary.
And watch the results.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
No on Bell and definitely no on Licht butchering another Bucs draft.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Should have made that move this year especially with d jack requesting a trade. I would have given him exactly what he wanted and traded Geraldine salary as well. Too late and with rebuilding the defense it’s too late, I think with a new coach barber can be the guy and I think with a year under Rojo belt he’ll be a better compliment or vice versa. Sorry coward coach and gm it should be too late to save your jobs
November 15th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
Bell would not come here even for money. FIRE LICHT.
November 15th, 2018 at 1:08 pm
Many posters like Doosh have mentioned Bell’s locker room presence. I couldn’t agree more with their point.
Again I’ve grown to believe that we do have a solid core of physically talented young players. But this entire team has been infected with a loser’s syndrome. It’s far too simplistic to blame any individual player or coach. A LOT of people have a hand in this disaster but sometime it does seem like we’re in the Twilight Zone and doomed to suck.
I’ve come to believe that what I’ll be looking for in the new “management” team however that team is constructed…will be men capable of turning around a culture. It’s far more than answering our QB questions or OL and DL questions…it’s about figuring a way to change the culture…something far more difficult than simply winning football games.
This is why agree with the many here who’d like to see Tony Dungy as President of Football Operations. His unofficial title…Exec in charge of culture change. He gets a very generous budget so he can hire a real grinder of a GM who can set up one of the best scouting departments in the league.
TD and the GM confer and find the HC…they all get together and assemble the rest of the staff.
Tony would simply keep the ship on an even keel. He’s not going to design defenses…obviously he’ll have a strong opinion, but TD’s smart enough to delegate to the GM and HC.
I also like having power divided equally between GM and HC when it comes to the decision making on things like roster. Tony has the last say so he acts as mediator and he has the perfect calm personality for that.
November 15th, 2018 at 1:15 pm
Doug Martin is averaging over 4 yards a carry in Oakland on a bad team and without a passing attack. Just sayin this OL is bad bad bad. They played great the first two weeks but since then a big donut. I doubt Bell would put up the numbers here that he did in Pittsburgh. Under Koetter’s vertical passing game we don’t even target the RB’s much.
November 15th, 2018 at 1:41 pm
I should become a sports writer.
What a great gig.
Just make up any stupid thing you want, publish for the world to see. And it doesn’t matter one bit how dumb or incorrect your story is. (I’m not talking about the bJoes, btw)
November 15th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
NOPE
November 15th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
The Bucs do not need to spend one more dime on offense.
Sheesh…
November 15th, 2018 at 2:28 pm
Bell’s success IMHO is a result of the Steelers scheme and O Line. He was never a stellar running back at Michigan State, and it is highly doubtful is he will be a star anyplace else.
The back who took his place in Pittsburgh is all the proof anyone needs. The Steelers have not missed a lick, since he has been gone.
November 15th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
no it will be like when derrick ward came to tampa
November 15th, 2018 at 4:33 pm
Wow. Actually surprised that there is general agreement that this would be a really bad idea. I think this guy is committing career suicide. Nobody’s going to want this clown next year.
November 15th, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Yeah so who’s going to block for him? These clowns? Not a chance. This O line sucks.
November 15th, 2018 at 5:09 pm
We need good, mature vets to come in and teach all our young guys in the locker room. Not a total a$$hole that doesn’t play for the team but for himself.
November 15th, 2018 at 6:07 pm
Behind this line? Ha ha ha ha
November 15th, 2018 at 8:22 pm
Said it all season and offseason, the best defense is an offense that scores 40. The defense is beyond repair and will take years to fix, so while you blow up that side of the ball and rebuild, max out the offense and don’t let years of these guys lives go to waste, since you aren’t going to have a good defense anytime soon, do what is the most basic thing in the book, out score your opponents.
November 15th, 2018 at 9:39 pm
Bell isn’t worth all that money. Then again, neither are Jason Licht, Dirk Koetter, and DJax. For dadgums jimenty crickets sake! FIRE LICHT!
November 15th, 2018 at 10:03 pm
Bell is all about the money. He’s proven that over and over again. The headaches aren’t worth it.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:06 pm
The Glazers have taken away Jason’s check book, however they’re a year too late. If after 4 seasons your cumulative record is below .500 you should be shown the door. Glazers please find a capable football person to run this team it’s obvious you guys are just content cashing checks. NFL needs to mandate parody in the front office.
November 15th, 2018 at 10:51 pm
In other words TiredBucFan says! Fireeeeee Licht!!!
November 16th, 2018 at 12:09 am
I say one more year for both the coach and the gm and if we still suck by week 10 next year then give them the boot. Also I’d love to see Le’Veon In a Buc Jersey. That’s what this team is missing is a top notch running back. The running game is the start of a good team. That’s why our offense can’t continuously get the ball down the field and why we have a problem in the red zone. The defense wouldn’t be on the field as much either if we had a top notch running back. The right side of that offensive line needs a makeover as well. Dot can still play but he’s not able to be a starter anymore and caleb is just plain bad!