Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made himself somewhat infamous, at least among some, when he said that he was looking for volunteers, not hostages, when referring to former running back Le’Veon Bell and his decision not to show up and play under a franchise tender in 2018. He’s invoked the phrase other times since then in addressing players who wanted to be traded, most recently Melvin Ingram last year.
But it’s becoming increasingly common for other teams to see things the same way. Rather than hold a player hostage who doesn’t want to be there, they have been much more willing to ‘oblige’, provided that they get commensurate compensation, in dealing him.