Mandatory minicamps are kicking off in various places around the NFL this week. Players will descend on team facilities for workouts, scheme installments, seven-on-sevens, drills and more. Some players, though, will not attend for one reason or another.
Two players set to skip their team's minicamps are Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, according to a report from NFL.com. Both the Steelers and Rams start minicamp Tuesday.
Bell was franchise-tagged by the Steelers earlier this offseason. He and the Steelers have until July 15 to reach an agreement on a long-term contract, but the Steelers are reportedly comfortable letting him work on the tag for the 2017 season. He's set to be paid around $12 million on that contract, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL this season.
Bell is arguably the best running back in football, but he has suffered injuries over the past few years and has also been suspended, so it makes some degree of sense that the Steelers would rather just pay him $12 million guaranteed for a year than commit big, up-front money over the long term.
Donald is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, during which he'll count for just over $3.2 million against the cap while collecting a base salary of approximately $1.8 million. He's one of the most underpaid players in the league relative to his production, as he is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL.
He is likely to receive a massive contract extension at some point, one that might even make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league -- if not the highest-paid player overall. But the Rams do have him under team control for this season and next (because of his fifth-year option) for just over $10.1 million, and if they could get through those two years with one of the biggest bargains in football, they would surely benefit from it. The two sides are reportedly intensely negotiating, though, so something figures to get worked out.
