Which NFL teams are realistic trade candidates for Le’Veon Bell?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are open to a Le’Veon Bell trade now that the All-Pro’s contract holdout spilled into Week 3 of the regular season. But the question now isn’t necessarily who wants the dual-threat tailback, but who can afford him.

After forfeiting his paycheck for the first three games of the year, Bell is due a shade under $12 million for the remainder of the season. That’s a hefty price tag, but there are a handful of teams who can sneak the Steelers tailback onto their salary sheet without breaching the league’s salary cap. And that includes all three of Pittsburgh’s AFC North rivals.

While it’s pretty unlikely the Steelers would move their star to a team they’ll face twice a year until the heat death of the universe, there are other destinations that could make for a win-win situation in a blockbuster deal. Nine teams in the league could absorb the rest of Bell’s contract without having to cut anyone to make room under the league’s $180.2 million cap.

So what makes a club a good candidate to deal for Bell? Aside from just having space, they’d also need some offensive playmaking. Just having a good tailback wouldn’t preclude a team from adding Bell since he brings so much value to the passing game, but a team like the 49ers, who currently roster the league’s leading rusher in Matt Breida and will have a healthy Jerick McKinnon returning in 2019, may be unwilling to make a major deal. And since the asking price for Bell is likely to be similar to the draft haul the Raiders got in exchange for Khalil Mack — two first rounders in what looks like an underpay — rebuilding teams will be hesitant to give up draft assets for a veteran player.

With that in mind, here are the teams who could be a match when it comes to trading for, and then extending, Le’Veon Bell.

The Colts are committed to changing their culture under new general manager Chris Ballard. Adding an All-Pro would be a great way to prove it. Andrew Luck’s comeback season has been stunted by a lack of weapons, and if he’s going to continue relying on short passes — his 5.5 yards per pass through the air is second-lowest in the NFL so far — he might as well be throwing to one of the league’s most dynamic backfield targets.

Bell would be an instant boost for a team that’s got a tremendous deep threat in T.Y. Hilton and then a mostly-anonymous set of skill players around him. And paying out big money for the Steelers’ back wouldn’t require much salary cap magic; Indianapolis is currently more than $50 million under the league’s spending limit for 2018.

It hasn’t been pretty, but the Titans stand atop the AFC South with a 2-1 record after outlasting the Jaguars in a borderline unwatchable game Sunday. Tennessee’s offense has been stuck in limbo thanks to a hurt Marcus Mariota, a series of typical performances from Blaine Gabbert, and an inefficient running game.

Bell would instantly add some juice to the Titans’ drained battery. The team bet on a thunder-and-lightning backfield with Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis this offseason, but the duo has struggled; they’ve combined for just 282 yards on 85 carries this fall, an inefficient 3.3 yards per carry. Adding the Pittsburgh star would not only give the club some additional ground support, but the combination of Bell and Lewis as receivers out of the backfield would give Tennessee the league’s most dangerous group of pass-catching backs. With Mariota still up-and-down as a performer thanks to an inconsistent group of wideouts, adding a little consistency would do wonders for the Titans’ postseason hopes.

Jon Gruden’s team has been proactive about making moves this fall, shaving Pro Bowl talent like Mack and Marquette King from the roster in order to bring a cache of veteran players to the lineup. Unfortunately for Oakland, that strategy has left the Raiders riding the struggle bus through an 0-3 start that has seen the team blow second half leads in each game this fall.

Pairing Bell with Marshawn Lynch would give Gruden one of the league’s most dynamic backfields, a duo who could execute in every phase of the offense and take some of the offensive load from Derek Carr’s shoulders. It would also be a big moral victory for the club on and off the field — Bell is the kind of star who can generate excitement for the Raiders’ upcoming move to Las Vegas.

Miami would have to cut about $2 million in cap space to take on Bell, and the absolutely stupid construction of their roster makes that nearly impossible without shipping out or cutting some key assets. But if the Dolphins can get creative, Bell could be a major addition for the 3-0 Dolphins. With the Patriots vulnerable and the Bills and Jets in various stages of rebuild, 2018 could be the year the team pushes its chips to the middle of the table and makes a run at its first AFC East title since 2008.

Kenyan Drake has been solid as the team’s lead back but offers little in the passing game. Frank Gore continues to impress in his 35th year on this earth but he’s got to depreciate at some point. Neither has the game-breaking home run talent Bell has. Freeing him from the Steelers would make the Dolphin offense significantly more dangerous while allowing Adam Gase to demand less from an overachieving Ryan Tannehill as the season wears on.

The Jets and the Colts are the only two teams that are currently projected to have more than $100 million in cap space in 2019. And what better way to give a rookie quarterback like Sam Darnold help than to give him a premium running back who’s an elite safety valve out of the backfield.

The combination of Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell has been a good duo for the Jets, but landing Bell would be a boon for the development of Darnold.

Plus, the Jets have already shown interest in Bell, according to the NY Daily News’ Manish Mehta. No offer has been made yet, though.