Would you cut Leveon Bell?
 

Would you cut him if he was just wasting space on your bench? I'm thinking about it.

No. He has to come back by Week 10 if he wants to be a free agent next year.

This. If you can't afford to keep an inactive player on the bench, find a trade partner. Someone will give you something for him.

No. Find the guy that owns James Conner and see if you can get something for him.

I picked him with the #2 pick in the draft. :(

If you're in a cash league do you have any openings?

No shit. I want to be in a league with him too.

I don't think that's right. He's already a free agent. I don't know whether the Steelers can tag him again or not, but he's not under a contract for next year whether he gets a year of service this season or not.

So how did this turn out for you, Buck? How about you, BRC? I have James Conner and tried to trade him to the Bell owner for Joe Mixon before Mixon's injury but he counteroffered with Kerryon Johnson and I declined as I already have several pretty good RBs.

It’s kind of right. If he doesn’t report by the Tuesday following Week 10, he is ineligible to play the rest of the year. His tag for this season therefore doesn’t “count” and the Steelers can tag him again next season as if they were tagging him for a second time.

Yeah, so that's considerably less of a downside for him than not being eligible for free agency would be. The chances that the Steelers would tag him and force him to play or sit again without a new contract are pretty negligible, IMO. Thanks for clearing the tag part up. I wasn't sure about that.

100% chance the Steelers tag him again if given the chance. Why let a player of that caliber walk? Even if neither party wants him to be there, you tag him and trade him for more than a compensatory 3rd you'd get if he leaves in free agency.

Right. I think they would try to trade him. But I also think that for them to be successful, he'd have to agree to a new deal with the new team. I doubt they'd get much of a haul for a 1 year player at a franchise tag price (who would likely remain disgruntled as a tagged player). I could be wrong, but that's my theory.

I always make sure I have one elite RB to start the season. I always like to work the wire during the first few weeks, primarily searching for solid WR’s to where I am stacked there and can trade recklessly on a second elite RB before playoffs. Having 2 elite, consistent RB’s with respectable players is key. That strategy has worked for me repeatedly. I win a lot. With that said, I just made a trade (12 team league PPR)....

I get:

Djoku
Bell

I give:

Kareem Hunt
Golladay
John Brown...

With the free roster spot, I have to pick up an IDP because of a bye week. My other TE is Jimmy Graham who is on a bye week and my league is half Packer fans. I am gonna trade him for someone awesome because some Pack homer will overcompensate.

So after that trade, my team is:

QB (1 starter): Patrick Mahomes,Kirk Cousins
WR: (3 starters): ODB, Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Sammy Watkins, Corey Davis...

RB (2 starters): Bell, Sony Michel (I think he has become an RB1), Matt Breida (most underrated RB in fantasy... in average points per game he is the 12th best RB in the league, but everyone puts their nose up to him in trade requests as if he sucks), Nick Chubb (Hyde traded to Jags...Chubb is now a potential RB1), Kerryon Johnson, Ito Smith (value increased this week with Freeman going to IR).

TE (1 starter): Graham and Djoku... I think these guys are the same in terms of future production...I am going to trade Graham for some fire to a TE needy Pack fan in my league.

K: Butt Kicker

Def: Jax

IDP (start 3): TJ Watt, Telvin Smith, Myles Jack and likely Darren Lee to cover open slot for Watt’s Bye week.

I made that trade because I needed a good TE now because of Graham’s Bye week and could give up a lot to get him because of good waiver moves and trades to this point.

Without Bell, I don’t see how I place any lower than 2nd. With Bell, I think I have it locked up.

So...the question I am getting to: What do you guys expect from Bell at this point?

I drafted LeSean McCoy as my first RB and he has been a total bust.

I drafted Bell with the 3rd overall pick. Luckily my team has turned out pretty good and I'm in first place in my league. If Bell comes back and gets anywhere close to his usual numbers, my team will be really really stout.