Bell Rung In New York

In the history of the franchise, the New York Jets have had some pretty good running backs suit up for them. Thomas Jones, LaDainian Tomlinson, Freeman McNeil, Emerson Boozer, John Riggins and Curtis Martin are a few of the big names that have suited up to carry the ball for Gang Green. In the summer of 2019 the Jets added three time thousand yard rusher Le'Veon Bell to that list. It was a move that hoped to not only get Bell's career going again, but reestablish a solid running game for the Jets. In less then two years, that test drive went nowhere, ending with the Jets cutting Bell yesterday.

The Jets released the following statement yesterday in regards to letting Bell go: 

"After having conversations with Le’Veon and his agent and exploring potential trade options over the past couple of days, we have made the decision to release Le’Veon, the Jets organization appreciates Le’Veon’s efforts during his time here and we know he worked hard to make significant contributions to this team. We believe this decision is in the best interests of both parties and wish him future success.”

There's no doubt in my mind that this had been a rocky relationship right from the word go between Bell and head coach Adam Gase. Bell wasn't a Gase guy, and Bell didn't really like the way Gase was operating things. Granted when the Jets signed him, Bell was coming off missing a year after the contract dispute with the Steelers cost him the entire 2018 season. When he signed with the Jets, the deal was for four years and $52.5 million. In just a season and a half, not even, with the Jets, he had 264 carries for 836 yards and three touchdowns.

The opinion of most is that Bell did this to himself. He had done more on social media to get himself out of New York then he did productively on the field. Hey, he put up decent numbers, but nowhere near the numbers a guy of his talent level should be doing, or what he was doing before his contract dispute in Pittsburgh. What stuck to me was the social media outbursts. He was liking posts on how he should be used in the passing game and that the team should trade him ect. He was also very outspoken about head coach Adam Gase and how he was used in the Gase offense. It wasn't hidden very well by Bell that he wasn't happy with Gase at all. I also think the feeling was a bit mutual, in that Gase wasn't a fan of Bell to begin with, so there's that.

Now this leads to two questions: What does this mean for the Jets run game? Where does Bell end up?

Well as far as the Jets run game goes, they have Frank Gore, who they brought on board in the offseason. As a Jets fan, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the ageless wonder in Gore stays healthy and can be somewhat productive. At least it will give some hope to this offense. If anything happens to Gore on the injury front, there's no real depth at the position for the Jets and its going to make an already uphill battle this season even harder.

As for Bell and where he could land, there are a few options. He still in the prime of his career and may have plenty left in the tank to prove he can be an elite level back in this league again. One landing spot that would come as a huge irony spot would be the Steelers, but I really think that bridge has been burned and he won't be going back there. He could land with the Bears, who really need help in the running game. Tampa and Cleveland could also be a good spot to land as both are in need of back help. So too are the Giants, who yes have Devante Freeman but haven't been anywhere near the same team in the run game since Barkley went down with the season ending knee injury.

Wherever Bell ends up playing, I just hope the team that signs him can get him back on track. He's too talented a back to not be playing in the best football league in the world