New York Jets shouldn’t go after Le’Veon Bell yet
By Alex Jordan
The New York Jets have expressed interest in Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. However they shouldn’t go after him right now.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell isn’t happy in Pittsburgh. The Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bell and he hasn’t signed his franchise tag tender yer since he wants a multi-year deal. As a result Bell hasn’t played so far this season, which is of interest to the New York Jets.
The Steelers are now listening to trade offers for Bell. So who is interested in Bell and could make an offer for him? The Jets are one team that’s interested in Bell and have contacted the Steelers to express their interest, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
The Jets haven’t made an offer for Bell yet. While they are interested in Bell, the Jets shouldn’t go after him yet. Under NFL rules any team that get Bell in a trade can’t sign him to a multi-year deal until after the season.
That means that Bell would be just a one-year rental. The Jets would be able to afford getting Bell since they have about $17 million in cap space, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. However Bell might not stick around if Gang Green were to get him, so it makes no sense in going after someone who might be gone after the season.
Bell would be a good addition to the Jets. He would provide much-needed depth at the running back position as the Jets just have Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell as running backs. The Jets other running back Elijah McGuire is currently injured, so Bell would help Gang Green’s offense a lot.
It would make more sense for the Jets to go after Bell after the season ends. Powell will be a free agent at the end of the season and the Jets would have approximately $90 million in cap space. Going after Bell in 2019 would be the best move for the Jets because they would have more money and they could sign him to a multi-year deal.
While we don’t know if the Jets will make an offer for Bell, they should wait until next year to go after him.