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By John Sarianides
Four downs today focuses on Combine week, Le’Veon Bell getting the franchise tag, Alex Smith getting a vote of confidence from the owner in Kansas City and Eric Berry possible getting tagged.
1st Down: Combine Week is Here! I love the NFL Combine! Nothing gets the scout in me more excited than watching guys in compression shirts and shorts running the 40 yard dash, bench pressing 225 pounds and doing the three cone drill. It is good stuff. I can’t wait for this weekend. The road to Philadelphia starts in Indianapolis.
2nd Down: For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Steelers had a busy day yesterday. First they placed the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell, which means they have to pay him more than $12 million dollars in 2017. They then signed Antonio Brown to the richest contract for a receiver in NFL history.
Both moves were expected. Now it will be interesting to see if they can afford to keep Bell beyond this season. My guess is general manager Kevin Colbert will try but it won’t be easy. It is one thing to commit to your core players but when they eat up so much of your cap space, it makes harder to build a competitive roster. Will the Steelers be willing to give Bell $12-15 million per year for the next four to five years. I doubt it.
3rd Down: If Alex Can’t Do It, No One Can! Chiefs owner Clark Hunt expressed his support for embattled starting quarterback Alex Smith yesterday. I find that interesting because it was the owner endorsing the quarterback, not general manager John Dorsey or head coach Andy Reid.
I know Andy Reid likes Alex Smith. That is why I think it would have sounded better if Reid came out and publicly supported Smith, not Hunt. The Chiefs are committed to Smith for 2017. Beyond that will depend on how far the Chiefs go next season. Either way you look at it, Smith’s days in Kansas City are dwindling.
4th Down: Berry, Berry Interesting: Speaking of the Chiefs. They are trying to negotiate an extension with free safety Eric Berry. The two sides are close. Berry wants to stay in Kansas City and the Chiefs want to keep him so it wouldn’t surprise me if the two sides announced a new deal in the coming days.
Berry does not want to play under the franchise tag in 2017. The Chiefs should do what ever they can to ensure that they keep their best defensive player and keep him happy. If Berry hits the open market, he is a goner. The Chiefs cannot let that happen.