The Steelers replaced Le'Veon Bell‘s yardage

.That’s not the same as replacing Le’Veon Bell.Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said the “distraction” of their franchise-tagged running back never showing up clearly hurt the team this year Joe Gilliam Jersey , as they missed the playoffs by a half-game.鈥淚t hurts you when you don鈥檛 have one of the better players in the game,鈥?Roethlisberger said during his appearance on 93.7 The Fan. 鈥淏ut I think the biggest thing that hurts us was that it was a distraction. At his position we got to see James Conner and Jaylen Samuels, and I thought we got to see guys come into their own and see a glimpse of the future. I was really encouraged about life without Le鈥橵eon.鈥滳onner and Samuels combined for 1,229 rushing yards, 696 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns this year.In 2017 Diontae Johnson Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , Bell had 1,291 rushing yards, 655 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns.Of course, the bigger problem for the Steelers wasn’t any dip in production, but the $14.5 million they had budgeted for Bell that was never spent to improve the team. When you consider how narrow the margin was for them in missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013 Diontae Johnson Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , it’s clear they could have used a player or five which could have been acquired with that money. Soon-to-be Raiders receiver Antonio Brown was due to earn zero dollar and zero cents of guaranteed money over the next three years. Instead, he’ll get $30 million, fully guaranteed.Per a source with knowledge of the terms of the looming contract restructuring, the Raiders will guarantee $30 million of Brown’s future payout. Also, the total amount he was due to earn through 2021 will increase from $38.925 million to $50.125 million.There are multiple ways to assess the new deal. Brown will make $16.7 million per year in hard dollars over the next three seasons. But when the $11.2 million is added to the $68 million in new money that Brown received two years ago from the Steelers, the new-money average on the entire deal spikes from $17 million to $19.8 million.Brown also can trigger $4 million in incentives Diontae Johnson Jersey 2019 , which would be paid in 2020 and 2021. If earned, he’ll receive an extra $15.2 million over the next three years, and the new-money average of the deal he signed with Pittsburgh in 2017 will be $20.8 million.Regardless of how the cat is skinned, Brown had made $33.79 million over the last two years and he was due to make $38.925 million, with no guarantees. That number has now gone up by $11.2 million, with $30 million of the $50.125 million he’ll make over the next three seasons now fully guaranteed.It’s not a bad outcome for a guy who was tied to the Steelers for three more seasons Diontae Johnson Jersey Youth , and who presumably had no leverage to either demand a trade or finagle a new deal.