An NFL player can irritate some portions of the locker room. He can rankle a coaching staff. He can even have his agent repeatedly butt heads with the team’s front office.

But when a contract holdout starts crossing into taunting territory, it’s time to move on. And if you have any doubts about Le’Veon Bell being at this point of no return, just check out the jet-ski jaunt from Miami earlier this month. If Bell’s divorce from the Pittsburgh Steelers finally goes down, history is likely to remember that moment being the incident that prompted the Steelers to break it off.

View photos Le’Veon Bell hasn’t suited up for the Steelers since their playoff game in January. (AP) More

According to a league source who spoke with Yahoo Sports on Monday, that snippet of Bell on the water is when Pittsburgh officially opened the door to trade offers. Partially because of the impact Bell’s behavior – and the questions surrounding it – have had on the locker room, and partly because the Steelers are now convinced that Bell’s heart is more invested in his pending free agency than coming in and helping Pittsburgh. Bell’s agent, Adisa Bakari, has been putting out trade feelers to other franchises for several weeks, the source said. But within only the past few days have the Steelers been open to listening to offers.

Le’Veon Bell out here enjoying life during his holdout 🚤@TMZ_Sports pic.twitter.com/Q0EqGZheyQ — Yahoo Sports NFL (@YahooSportsNFL) September 18, 2018





None of that means a deal is likely to happen, largely because of the complications that surround an acquisition. There is a question of what the Steelers would accept for Bell – a bounty that would need to be at least a third-round pick because that is what Bell’s free-agent departure would likely draw in a compensatory draft choice. But the more complicated matter for teams pursuing Bell is the fact that they can’t sign him until after the season, due to franchise tag restrictions. In effect, he could be a short-term rental for any team that acquires him, choosing to play out the string and maximize his value in free agency. There’s also the matter of Bell being intent on preserving his health prior to that free-agency foray. It’s a goal that will likely extend to any team that signs him as well.

So what is Bell really worth and who is in play? That’s a question best answered by a handful of factors, chief among them being immediate need, available money, quarterback talent and the stability of the franchise brain trust. With that in mind, here is the case for the top three Bell suitors, ranked from strongest case to weakest:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The basics: The Colts have the youngest roster of “under contract” players for 2019. That gives their front office and coaching staff some leeway to splurge on a few seasoned veterans. Indianapolis also has a ton of money to spend next year if it chooses. Barring extensions before the offseason, the standardized salary-cap space for the Colts will be roughly $73 million. If allowable roll-over cap space from this season is calculated, Indianapolis can push offseason spending beyond $120 million in 2019. That’s an absurd amount of space – and it will factor in every NFL agent trying to get their clients into the mix with the franchise.

Andrew Luck is 29 and needs some force-multipliers next to him on offense. As a three-down “unicorn” running back, Bell fits that mold, meaning he should make Luck a better player – and in turn, more worth the franchise-quarterback contract he’s already being paid.

Why they’ll do it: Team owner Jim Irsay will never get over wasting some of Peyton Manning’s prime. And he’s got to feel some of Luck’s prime has been frittered away with injuries and some bad front-office management in the previous regime. So he will be on board with paying a special player like Bell to pair with his franchise centerpiece. General manager Chris Ballard spent enough time with the Kansas City Chiefs watching Jamaal Charles to know what a special three-down running back can do. Even head coach Frank Reich seems suited for a player like Bell, preferring to run multiple offensive personnel groups and formations, constantly looking for mismatch opportunities.

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