The offseason has been brutal for running backs lately compared to how it was in the past. This year, in particular, showed how much value running backs lost, as multiple megastars at the position didn’t receive the contracts they wanted, which is something that Le’Veon Bell knows very well.
On Monday, many talented playmakers crossed the franchise tag deadline, meaning they will be playing under one-year contracts. The cases that took everyone’s attention were Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs.
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Bell is no longer in the NFL due to a clear decline in his performance over his last couple of years as a player. However, he was in a similar situation as one of the best running backs in the league when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Le’Veon Bell compares the RB market to “A bug’s life”
His role in the offense back then was something that Barkley and Jacobs can identify with. He was a huge part of the unit, but the team gave him the franchise tag instead of the long-term contract he wanted. Bell was criticized for sitting out in 2018, especially because he was never the same afterwards. However, he experienced the reality of the running back market.
“Disney a LONG time ago (1998) taught me a valuable lesson about sticking together, go watch ‘A Bug’s Life’ … it’ll put in perspective the running back market. The running backs are the ants. I’m Flik (The Inventive Ant) I took ALL the damage from the grasshoppers (Owners). At the time, no one could see my vision or what I was standing for but all I was doing was just preparing to go against the grasshoppers/owners, but as a lone inventive ant/RB, I obviously couldn’t beat the grasshoppers/owners alone. In 2017 & 2018 I was the lone ant, I was Flik. it was literally ONLY ME. Fast forward 6 years later, now you have multiple ants trying to join the fight against the grasshoppers. Once Flik helped the other ants realize that there are more of US (ants) than it is of THEM (grasshoppers/owners) they finally defeated the grasshoppers. Ants are STRONG AS F- together! Very weak when they are individuals”, Bell posted on his Twitter account.
