Getty Former New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell in 2019.
New York Jets fans deserve an apology for all the various things they’ve had to endure over the years. Recently, the Adam Gase seasons stand out as a particularly arduous time.
One of the big-name additions during Gase’s tenure was running back Le’Veon Bell — a polarizing figure who sat out the 2018 campaign in order to secure more money for himself and the running back position. In the end, the decision didn’t really work out considering Bell was effectively out of the league just three years after his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers organization.
Although, he was able to swipe a quick $27.5 million and change from the Jets for a minimal impact of 1,363 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns over 17 starts. So yeah, you might say Jets fans have earned an apology for that one, but they won’t get it here in July of 2023 as Bell addressed Steeler Nation rather than Gang Green.
Ex-NFL RB Le’Veon Bell’s Message to Steeler Nation Years After Leaving for the Jets
Bell took to Instagram live this week to field questions from fans and uSTADIUM reposted his response after one Steelers supporter asked for an apology.
Le’Veon Bell apologizes to #Steelers fans for holding out and not staying with the team.
Le’Veon wanted a big deal (upwards of $80-90M) to stay in #Pittsburgh in 2018, but the team would tag him for a second straight season. Le’Veon would hold out the entire 2018 season before…
“I never apologized to the fans for really sitting out, or leaving the Steelers,” Bell began, adding: “I never apologized, so I want to say, I apologize for leaving the best damn fans there is in this damn world. I shouldn’t of left. I apologize, I should never have left. I apologize. That’s my fault, that’s on me.”
While it’s nice to see some accountability from Bell, his Pittsburgh apology does nothing for Jets fans. In fact, it almost reads as a slap in the face, being that he views his journey to New York as such a mistake.
Le’Veon Bell Rips Adam Gase, Reveals Jets Dysfunction in 2019 & 2020
That last thought shouldn’t come as a total shock. Back in May of 2023, Bell joined the “STEEL HERE” podcast and absolutely shredded Coach Gase while opening up about his time with the Jets.
“Bro, we get to New York and that’s when I instantly find out [that] head coaches make a huge difference — like, a huge difference,” Bell voiced at the time. “As soon as I get to New York, I find that out like the first week.”
The former NFL star was a bit kinder to his ex-NYJ teammates, noting that the roster could have won more games with Steelers HC Mike Tomlin in charge.
“It [got to the] point where it was like, Sam Darnold don’t even know the actual protection — or where the line is protecting — because he’s so confused about our offense because the coach is confusing him,” Bell explained.
“I dealt with that whole year,” he continued. “The play-calling was terrible, it was a lot of things that were not going the way that [they] obviously should have been going, but [I wasn’t] about to talk to the media [about it] — I just ate it. I trained hard, thinking I just got to get better, so I’m going to go back and train hard as hell. I’m going to go back and do what I was doing in Pittsburgh, training three times a day… making sure I was in shape.”
“Come back, I’m at three percent body fat [in 2020],” Bell rounded out the story. “Alright, I know I’m in shape, this time I’m ready… Week 1, we playing the [Buffalo] Bills.”
“You had six carries [that game],” Kevin Adams of the STEEL HERE podcast cut in. To end the discussion, Bell just nodded and said, “there ya go.”