

Pictured: NFL running backs Ezekiel Elliott (left) and Le'Veon Bell.

File photos/The Dallas Morning News and AP Photo




Instead, his signing with the New York Jets on Wednesday is likely to be the most significant development -- and the best news -- the Cowboys will receive this entire offseason.

I will give you three reasons for it, and let's start with the smallest in stature. He signed with an AFC team. He didn't sign with Philadelphia.

There was never any real danger that Bell, still a great talent after sitting out the entire 2018 season rather than play for Pittsburgh, would sign with New York since the Giants already have Saquon Barkley. Washington just re-signed Adrian Peterson and has hopes for Derrius Guice to make a belated debut, so the Redskins were never in on Bell.

As for the Eagles, a team that won a Super Bowl with a committee of backs, there were frequent rumors that the club might jump in on the Bell sweepstakes. A Carson Wentz-Bell backfield would have been formidable. It's not happening, and the Cowboys can concern themselves with this season's rare trip to New York to play the Jets at a later date.

The second and third reasons Bell's signing was a big deal are tied together. Simply put, he did not break the bank. You can read the numbers in different ways, shade them in any light you choose, but Bell essentially signed with the Jets for the same money he could have received a year ago from Pittsburgh. The Jets provided a better guarantee although all he had to do was last two years with the Steelers in order to make the same money.

Regardless, the point is that with a four-year, $52.5 million deal and $35 million guaranteed, he was unable to surpass the deal Todd Gurley struck last summer in LA with fewer yards and seasons and skins on the wall than Bell. Gurley's four-year, $57.5 million deal remains the target for Ezekiel Elliott when his time comes, and it's coming sooner rather than later.

Elliott has led the NFL in rushing in each of his two full seasons. He's the leading rusher over his three-year career even with the six-game suspension of 2017 factored in. He moved much closer to Gurley and Bell as a receiver last season with 77 catches. The Cowboys would be wise to extend him as soon as possible, despite the fact he has a fifth season on his rookie contract as a first-round pick.

With Earl Thomas off the table, here's the next step the Dallas Cowboys must take this offseason

Bump him up to a notch above Gurley, extend him through his seventh NFL season and that just might be it. The club can worry about what he has left and whether he's worthy of an eighth season when the time comes. I would make this a bigger priority this spring and summer than extending Dak Prescott although I know Jerry Jones may see it otherwise.

The fact is that the Cowboys caught a break. No one went wild in their pursuit of Bell which, in a $200 million salary cap season -- even with running backs having been devalued on the market -- was entirely possible. They should go ahead and take advantage of this.

The third reason that Bell's number is significant for Dallas is that he failed to make himself a trendsetter. By sitting out the 2018 season and declining the Steelers' $14.5 million, Bell did not recoup the sacrificed money in his new deal. He will simply have to play longer to earn roughly the same money he could have signed for a year ago.

What if Bell had been showered with money to the extent that other players followed suit? Specifically, what if he had been rewarded in such a way that DeMarcus Lawrence now saw sitting out the 2019 season rather than signing the franchise tag as a solid financial option? I'm not saying Lawrence or another player couldn't get mad enough at their team to do it, anyway, to try their luck where Bell failed. Maybe Lawrence would view the money that elite pass rushers command as enough to offset skipping out on $20 million, but it's awfully hard to imagine in the wake of what happened.

Ultimately, Bell's strong stance didn't accomplish anything other than an escape from Pittsburgh where he can try his luck with another team. The Cowboys can look at this development three different ways and breathe a huge sigh of relief.

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