Cleveland Browns given good odds to land Le’Veon Bell in 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back is likely to hit free agency following the 2018 season, and the Cleveland Browns were given one of the best odds to land the talented back.

Ever since Le’Veon Bell was drafted in 2013, he has created problems whenever he has faced the Cleveland Browns.

Over the past few seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back’s relationship with the organization has soured. Bell has been looking for a new contract that the Steelers are not willing to give out.

The past two seasons, the Steelers have placed the franchise tag on the running back. The Steelers will be unable to place the franchise tag on Bell again if he does not sign an extension with the team.

That means Bell is likely to hit the open market following the 2018 season. This has created the question of who will sign the running back during free agency. Although the 2018 season has not even started, Las Vegas has already created odds for who is the most likely to sign the running back, with the Browns near the top of the list.

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The Browns have loaded up their offensive talent since John Dorsey has taken over as general manager. It would not be a surprise to see the Browns pursue Bell even though they have a crowded running back room.

Cleveland made a lot of moves to build up their running back room this off-season. The Browns signed Carlos Hyde to a three-year deal when free agency opened in March. They then drafted Nick Chubb with the 35th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Cleveland also gave Duke Johnson a three-year contract extension.

If Cleveland were to seriously pursue Bell, the most likely running back the team would trade or release would be Hyde. Although he signed a three-year deal, the Browns have an out in Hyde’s contract following the season.

Of the teams listed as favorites to land Bell, the one similarity they have is all of the teams will have a good amount of cap space available to sign the running back. The running back is likely looking for around $18 million per year, which will make a big dent into a team’s cap space.

Dorsey has not been afraid to add talented players to the roster. With the amount of cap space the Browns will have following the season, there is the potential Cleveland could seriously pursue Bell to create an even more dynamic offense in 2019.