Leveon bell not expected to report to Pittsburgh

I have no shares or investment in any league in either Connor or Bell, and this is starting to get a little frustrating even for me. I need some resolution.

frick Levwon Bell

Yepi!!! My three keepers for next year conner,bell, and hunt.
This final nail in coffin that bell is no longer a steeler

People were only saying he was coming back because he was spotted in Pittsburgh. I don't believe any of that ever came from Bell's camp.

Doesn't he have to come back to accrue a year played? Otherwise the franchise tag that the Steelers applied to him this last offseason just rolls over, and he loses his leverage for next offseason. Or at least that is how I understood it.

Someone else can explain better I'm sure, but what I got is that if the Steelers tag him again next season it would be at a the average QB salary which is like $25M. So, it's either he would get a new deal with Pitt, sign a deal with someone else which Pitt could match, or the transition tag which he would get $25M. He would get what he wants no matter what.

I don't think that's right. If he accrues a year then they wouldn't be able to franchise him again because all that stuff that you said happens, but that's all moot if he doesn't accrue the year under this franchise tag and fulfill that contractual obligation. Then he would just be playing under the contract that he was supposed to be playing this year for next year. I'm pretty sure at some point he has to at least show up. Maybe before the week 11 game? Whether the Steelers actually decide to play him and how is a different question entirely.

I don't know. There must be something about this process that I'm not understanding.

EDIT: From reading that ESPN article, it seems that I'm right. The Steelers could just franchise him again next year with the same price as this year if he doesn't report. They're just speculating that the Steelers don't want to bring him back at any price because they're moving on and Conner has proven himself.

Now I'm reading that it would count as the third tag that carries the qb money even if he doesn't play under the second. It doesn't matter if he ever signs and plays under it. It's only a count on the number of times that a team decides to do it. This is all very confusing, and there seems to be contradictory and ambiguous information out there.