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Former New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell is attempting an NFL comeback.
Although it doesn’t sound like it’ll be with the green and white.
“I won’t start training until like March,” Bell said on Snapchat via Noah Strackbein of Sports Illustrated. “And I’m gonna be honest with myself, I got to go out there and be like, I’m going to put my foot in the ground. Do I feel it? Am I hurting? Can I go out there and really play again? And bro, I’m telling you all right now when I go out there and train in March, and if I hit April and I make this decision to come back to play in the NFL again, mark my words down — I will be better than I ever was. And I will only come back for that one team. You all know who it is. I don’t have to say no team. You all know who it is.”
The team that Bell was referencing is where he started his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bell last appeared in the NFL during the 2021 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was on the team for a month from December to January, played in three games, caught a touchdown, and then was promptly released.
Bell Is One of the Biggest Free Agent Busts in Jets Franchise History
In 2019 the Jets went on a wild free-agent spending spree.
General manager Mike Maccagnan signed veteran linebacker C.J. Mosley to a five-year $85 million contract. At the time that was the largest deal in franchise history but that has since been surpassed by the $96 million Quinnen Williams extension.
The other large investment the team made came on the offensive side of the ball when the Jets added Bell.
It was a four-year deal for $52.5 million but included incentives that could increase the overall value to $61 million.
Two months after signing these players to record-breaking deals, Maccagnan was fired in the middle of May 2019. The timing of the decision was considered odd.
The Jets allowed Maccagnan to spend an alarming amount of money and run the team’s draft in 2019 only to fire him shortly thereafter. New York would eventually hire his replacement, Joe Douglas, who still holds the position of GM in 2024.
Not even a month after Bell was signed there were rumors leaked that then head coach Adam Gase didn’t want to sign Bell in the first place. That created some awkward tension before Bell ever stepped foot on the field for the Jets.
Bell spent a year and a half on the Jets and never made the impact the team was hoping for. He averaged a measly 3.3 yards per carry during his tenure.
Jets Could Fill O-Line Holes in 2024 NFL Draft
The green and white have to fill at least two starting positions on the offensive line this offseason.
Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl, believes this could be a historic class in 2024.
“This is a great offensive line class. I think in my first year here in 2019 we had five first-rounders, I think this group could surpass that,” Nagy told Jets team reporter Ethan Greenberg. I think there are seven or eight guys that could go in the first round. If you need offensive line help this is the year to attack it.”
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