Pittsburgh could use this running back.
There is a long-term end in sight, tho: Bell will need to report for the final six games of the season in order to accrue another season of play; otherwise, Pittsburgh could just franchise Bell yet again for the same $14.5M tag after the season.
Bell will come back in November at the latest, which will also make him available to play in the postseason. And that’s where all of this could get interesting. Is it possible that Pittsburgh might wind up better off in the playoffs (assuming they get there, and an opening day tie against the Browns doesn’t engender confidence) if Bell doesn’t have a full workload behind him?
I’m thinking back to Bob Sanders and the 2006 Colts. The hard-hitting safety was one of the best defensive players in the NFL in his prime, but was rarely healthy. In 2005, he was an All-Pro safety; in 2007, he was the AP Defensive Player of the Year. In between? He missed most of the 2006 season due to injury, and the Colts defense suffered for it. Indianapolis ranked 21st in yards allowed, 23rd in points allowed, and 32nd in rushing yards allowed.
The Colts allowed over 100 rushing yards in every regular season game. Sanders re-emerged as a superstar in the playoffs, and the Colts held their first three playoff opponents to under 100 rushing yards. Indianapolis allowed just 14 points in the first two games, winning on the backs of their defense before the offense turned it on in the AFC Championship Game.
Bell has been the workhorse to end all workhorses for the Steelers. averaging 19.8 rushing attempts and 5.0 receptions per game since joining the Steelers. Over the last two seasons, it’s been even more extreme: he’s averaging 21.6 rushing attempts and 5.9 receptions per game! But in 2016, he was injured early in the AFC Championship Game (perhaps connected to the 59 carries he saw the prior two weeks), and the Steelers fell to New England.
This year, we might see the freshest Bell yet in the playoffs. And while this contract dispute is bad news for both Pittsburgh and Bell, it’s at least possible to see an unexpected light at the end of the tunnel. And while it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, John Riggins, Chuck Muncie, and Tony Dorsett might provide some evidence of older running backs playing well after less than a full regular season workload.
In 1982, a players’ strike shortened the season to just 9 games. Dorsett co-led the NFL with 177 carries and averaged 82.8 rushing yards per game during the regular season. At 28 years old, Dorsett had a lot of mileage on him already, but he still produced 88.7 rushing yards per game in the playoffs.
Muncie was 28 years old and on the backside of his career in 1982. He was a Pro Bowler in ’81 and ’82, but he averaged just 63.2 rushing yards and 23.0 receiving yards in 9 games in 1982 at 29 years old. In the playoffs, though, he topped 100 yards from scrimmage in both games, finishing with 253 total yards in two games. He rushed for 126 yards in the team’s first playoff game, making him, at the time, the oldest player in NFL history — by nearly two full years — to rush for 125+ yards in a playoff game.
And then there’s Riggins, who was 33 years old in 1982. He tied Dorsett with 177 carries in the regular season, and averaged 69.1 rushing yards per game. He then proceeded to have arguably the greatest postseason by a running back in NFL history, rushing for 610 yards in four games. He capped it off with a Super Bowl MVP Award.
In 2006, Larry Johnson set an NFL record for carries in a season with 416. He had 66 carries in his final two regular season games, and gained 273 yards. But then, in his first playoff game, he rushed for just 32 yards on 13 carries against…. Sanders and the Colts. Neither the Steelers nor Bell are very happy right now, but it’s possible, come January, Pittsburgh will be even more explosive than they would have been if Bell was given 400 touches during the regular season.