Getty Images Should the Washington Redskins call for Le'Veon Bell?
As the trade deadline approaches, there are still a few prominent names on the block. There hasn’t been much action in the trade market so far this season, which is surprising since guys like Earl Thomas, Le’Veon Bell, and DeVante Parker are, or were at one point being actively shopped around the league.
As teams are beginning to find their true identities this season, it’s becoming more clear where specific needs are. That could soon lead to Pittsburgh Steelers’ holdout, Le’Veon Bell finding himself in a new backfield to play in. After all, the Steelers seem quite comfortable with their second-year back, James Conner in the mix.
The Steelers have been very vocal about moving on from Bell, but they haven’t been able to find a trade partner yet that’s willing to pay the price for the 26-year-old running back. As the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly dropped out of the trade talks involving Bell, could there be another NFC East team getting in on the action for the Bell sweepstakes?
Obviously, we’re not talking about the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Giants here. We’re talking about the Washington Redskins, who recently ran into some backfield issues of their own. Before the season even started, their second-round pick, Derrius Guice tore his ACL during week one of the preseason.
That led to a desperate signing for veteran running back, Adrian Peterson. At first, the Peterson-Chris Thompson duo looked dangerous. But now both backs are dealing with injuries of their own after they took a beating to the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football during week five. Now, ESPN suggests that the Washington Redskins should inquire about the All-Pro running back while they can.
The Details:
“Pittsburgh Steelers trade Bell to Washington Redskins for 2019 third-round pick.”
“Washington seems like a slightly better fit for a few reasons. One is that its owner is irrational and shortsighted, which isn’t news. Trading for Bell would win Daniel Snyder positive short-term headlines in D.C. as Kirk Cousins plays well in Minnesota. Washington already has injury issues at running back with Derrius Guice done for the season and both Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson leaving the game against the Saints for stretches. Peterson has a dislocated shoulder, while Thompson injured his ribs. Bell would be a massive upgrade on Peterson.”
If the Steelers were willing to lower their asking price from a second-round pick, plus a player to a third-rounder for the Redskins, it would almost be too good to pass up. Obviously, the biggest concern would be giving up an early-to-mid-round draft pick for what could potentially be a one-year rental, but the Redskins would put themselves in a win-now scenario with Bell for this season.
The NFC East is wide open at the moment, and the Redskins are on top of what is shaping up to be a weak division. With the uncertainty of the two injury-prone veterans that the Redskins currently have, Bell would surely give the Redskins offense a much-needed boost in not only the run game but the passing game as well. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Redskins to see what they would have to give for Bell.