PITTSBURGH -- Le'Veon Bell plans to play in 2018, either under the franchise tag or a long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bell told fans during an Instagram Live chat Wednesday night that he won't miss games if asked to play on a tag for the second consecutive year. The Steelers tagged Bell on Tuesday as a one-year placeholder worth $14.544 million. The team owns his rights, and both parties have until July 16 to work out an extension.
Bell skipped training camp last year as a result of the tag, and that's his plan once again.
"Honestly, no, I'm not going to sit out. I'm going to be in the facility Week 1," Bell said. "It's going to be a rerun of last year. I'm not going to [training] camp. I'm not doing nothing else extra, OTAs, none of that. ...
"I'm going to strictly go to what I have to go to. I want to win every game. I want to have the best statistical career that I possibly can, so I want to play in every game that I can possibly play."
He told ESPN on Monday that retirement is still an option, or that the Steelers might not see him until Week 10, the deadline for picking up an accrued season and ensuring eligibility for 2019 free agency.
Bell has been outspoken about his negotiations with the Steelers, who recently increased their offer from last year that was worth, according to Bell, $13.3 million per year.
He said he wants at least $14.5 million annually on a new deal, with a goal of sparking a once-fruitful running back market.
Bell pointed out in his chat that Adrian Peterson's record-breaking $100 million contract was signed in 2011. Now the highest-paid back under a long-term contract is Atlanta's Devonta Freeman at $8.25 million per year.
Bell's career average of 128.9 yards from scrimmage per game is a modern NFL record for a player's first five seasons. That number weighs heavily in his assessment of his worth.
Asked directly about staying with the Steelers, Bell was blunt.
"Yes, I am going to stay in Pittsburgh," Bell said. "For one, I don't have an option. For two, I want to stay in Pittsburgh. So the ultimate goal is to get that done. That's just the way business goes, so who really knows what's going to happen?"