It will be a while before the New York Jets are able to move on from the disaster of a contract they signed former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell to ahead of the 2019 NFL season.
We’ve seen the reports about a major split between Bell and embattled Jets head coach Adam Gase in the past. We also know that the Jets tried to trade him after just one season.
Now comes this piece of information. It’s not great.
Jets place Bell on injured reserve
NFL Media’s Kim Jones was the first to report news that Gang Green placed Bell on injured reserve with a hamstring injury that had apparently slowed him down during training camp. He will now miss at least three weeks.
What’s interesting here is that Gase had removed Bell from practice during training camp earlier in the month with a similar injury. The star running back was not too happy about that, as he showed on social media.
It’s the continuation of problems between Bell and Gase since the Jets signed him back in March of 2019.
As for the latest injury, Bell put up 14 yards on six attempts in Week 1’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. It was obvious that he isn’t at 100%.
Bell’s stats with the Jets
- It’s been downright disastrous for Bell in Jersey. Before holding out with the Steelers for the entire 2018 season, Bell had been among the most-productive backs in the NFL.
- He averaged north of 1,900 total yards and 10 touchdowns between 2016-17, leading to him demanding a huge pay day from Pittsburgh.
- Over the course of his first 16 games with the Jets, Bell is averaging a laughable 3.2 yards per rush. He’s tallied a mere 803 rushing yards over that span.
Bell’s contract
- Unfortunately for the Jets, Bell’s contract makes it almost impossible to trade him. Now 28, Bell inked a four-year, $52.5 million deal ahead of the 2019 season.
- The three-time Pro Bowler is set to count a combined $28.5 million against the cap in 2021 and 2022. The Jets would incur a $17 million dead cap hit by releasing him this season.
- No team is going to even consider trading for Bell unless he completely redoes his contract. Considering the issues we saw in Pittsburgh, that’s highly unlikely.
This is just the latest example of Bell’s tenure with the Jets being an unmitigated disaster. Gang Green was foolish to sign him to a long-term contract after the running back held out for an entire season.
It seems that Bell was not Gase’s first choice in free agency last year, either. That’s added to what has increasingly become a volatile situation between the back and his team.
How this plays out remains to be seen. But it’s not a great look right now.
More must-reads: