Le'Veon Bell can become an unrestricted free agent on March 9 and the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't saying whether they'll keep him from the open market.
Kevin Colbert said that tagging Bell and signing him to a long-term deal are both options, but he didn't rule out the running back testing the open waters.
"The tag is always an option, and it's something we'll use if necessary," Colbert said. "We have until March 1 to make the decision. Again, this thing is very fluid. It changes daily, once you start into talks with players and start to see how it's all going to fit. We know that's an option. Even if we were to use the tag on Le'Veon, we would certainly want to do something long-term and have him be a member of the Steelers for life."
The Steelers have more than $35 million in cap space.