The winless New York Jets want to trade running back Le’Veon Bell, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.
Sources told the newspaper the Jets hope to deal the 28-year-old Bell “sooner rather than later,” with the NFL trade deadline set for Oct. 29. Bell declined to speak to the media following Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, which marked his return to the lineup after a three-week absence with a hamstring injury.
After the game, Bell reportedly “liked” several posts on Twitter that questioned why he was only targeted once in the receiving game against the Cardinals. He caught one pass for 7 yards and rushed 13 times for 60 yards.
“I know he’s frustrated that we haven’t won,” head coach Adam Gase said Monday. “It wasn’t necessarily the plan of not targeting him in the past game, it just kind of ended up being that way with how they were they were playing us. So that’s what it is, I mean, just try to find ways to move the football that’s all we’re trying to do, and it doesn’t always go exactly as planned.”
Bell rushed six times for 14 yards and caught two passes for 32 yards in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills, but missed most of the second half with the injured hamstring.
A two-time first-team All Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection, Bell sat out the 2018 season in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets when he became a free agent in March 2019.
Bell rushed for 789 yards in 15 games last season, marking his lowest rushing total since 2015. He caught 66 passes for 461 yards. –Field Level Media ()